Synopsis

Compact and portable, Waves is a self contained, multi-purpose microwave kitchen kit.

About

Everyone can cook. Just because one doesn’t have access to a full kitchen doesn’t mean healthy, tasty and convenient recipes are out of reach.

Waves offers a different kind of cooking, tailored to the needs of an individual with access to nothing but a microwave. This kit is a kitchen in a box, decked out with everything one needs to cook with from dry goods to utensils.

Why Microwaves?

Going through university, it was apparent that most students in residence on university campuses were not cooking. They subsided on the same limited culinary options of fast food joint day in, day out. By questioning the student populace, two reasons became apparent, the first was the limitation of time and the second was lack of cooking skills and tools.
Few residences had easy access to a full kitchen. However, all disclosed that they had microwaves nearby. Then why did so few people cook? The argument the cooking takes time is negotiable as during peak hours, it takes the same amount of time to wait in line at some fast food joint as to cook. The problem was then that people didn’t view the microwave as a tool that could produce healthy and nutritious dishes. There was a misconception that all the microwave could do was warm things up. However, the microwave oven is a powerful appliance in the kitchen, cheaper and easier to use than an oven, it still shares many of the same functions. People weren’t cooking because they didn’t think they have the ability or the tools to cook with. To address this problem, Waves was created as a comprehensive kit for healthy microwave cooking for students.

I started the project with the visual representation of microwaves, pulling the name and the undulating patterns used in the design from the electromagnetic spectrum. A triangle was selected for the brand to represent the triad of good food; nutrition, taste and time. Waves uses color coded graphics to create a fun and stress free culinary experience. It’s color combinations are in line with Ontario’s Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) allowing individuals with color blindness to clearly navigate the packaging. The entire project is bilingual so as to respect the equal status of French and English in Canada.
It was challenging to create a concise introduction to cooking in such a limited space. To solve the problem, a compact solution was needed. A crate was selected for its stackable nature and its second life as a storage container.

Applications

For storage practicality, the objects pull double-time. The cutting board doubles as the lid of the crate as well as a shelf in the crate for extra storage while the mug is labeled as a measuring cup for sizing portions. Wave’s outside front and back panels are 2 dishtowels (French and English) and the place mat can also be used as a hot pad. Items are color coded into 5 sections for easy identification. Utensils are orange, dishes are red, spices are cyan, sauces are blue and dry goods are green. Included in a create smaller than 1 foot squared are 36 items; a knife, a fork, a spoon, a butcher’s knife, a mug, a plate, a bowl, a knife, a place mat, 10 spice jars, 6 basic dry goods (oatmeal, rice, couscous, bowtie and shell pasta, flour, lentils and quinoa) 2 sauces (soy and sriracha), a jar of salsa, a sponge, 2 dishtowels, a cutting board, measuring spoons and 2 recipes booklets (morning and night). All the containers can be refilled with new goods once it has been consumed for the user’s ease.

As the student population is in class during the day and buys their lunches, it was the logical choice to prepare cookbooks for the two meals that they would enjoy at home, breakfast and dinner. All the recipes selected are time efficient and sensitive to dietary restrictions. With no more than four steps in a recipe, Waves makes cooking simple and accessible.
Functional and fun to use, this all inclusive kit and guide to microwave cooking allows students the ability to independently build valuable skills and have a choice in their dietary intake.