David Mui

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Easy Kuàizǐ Is the name I decided upon when making this project. ‘Kuàizǐ’ translates to chopsticks in mandarin and ‘easy’ was my focus; to create chopsticks that are accessible to younger kids and adults who are new to foreign utensils. When I was around four, my preschool celebrated a day similar to Chinese appreciation day, and my teachers were teaching us how to use chopsticks. The thing I remember was how hard it was at the time and how much everyone struggled. Learning how to use chopsticks is a huge part of the tradition, so instead I wanted to introduce a new utensil to Chinese cuisine. I was inspired by Viktoria Modesta’s ‘spike’ prosthetic she uses in her 2014 music video. Her way of creating a subversion for beauty standards and for those with disabilities and prosthetics was really eye opening to me. The most important aspect of my design is for the object to be light and accessible as regular utensils are(forks, knives, chopsticks). For this to work, all five points of my finger chopsticks need to touch. I think if any other parts of contact were to touch, the product would be working against itself; the human fingerour fingers have three joints each and our thumbs have only two joints. To keep the form and retain that chopstick feel, reducing mobility in our fingers is an essential. We grab everything with the insides of our hands-to the extent of our palms. The reason for this is because our fingers are able to form hooks. In technologies with one joint such as clamps, pencils, compass, and tweezers, the point of contact automatically falls to the tip of the utensil. I believe my product would also benefit from this simple ideology that has been passed down for so long.