Bronze Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design · 2020
Hazuto Cutting and Serving Board
- A' Design Award 2020 Bronze Winner in Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design
- Awarded April 15, 2020
- CLIENT: Hazuto
- Estimated Number of Design Views: 14,431
- Verification code CAB2445E76 · Verify this award
About Hazuto Cutting and Serving Board
Hazuto is a fresh aesthetic on the ubiquitous kitchen board space. A brushed metal rim binds the board, protecting it from warping, splitting, knocks and drops. The metal-wood combination is a pleasing new tactile experience. The warmth of the wood contrasts with the austere stainless steel frame. The screws are characteristically placed to complete an industrial sensibility. A negative corner-space forms a handy hook. The singular shape is preserved, absent of unnecessary distractions or additions. The result is an efficient, clean, two-tone form that’s as eye-catching as it is ergonomic.
Press Kit
- Unique Properties
- Wood boards with metal elements or handles are not new. But fit a one-piece steel rim around it, create a corner nook, and you have an on-trend package that works as well as it looks. The aesthetic differentiators here are efficiency and form. No separate handle to disrupt the singular rectangular flow. Functionally, the rim prolongs warping. Knocks and drops are insulated. The austere stainless steel rim contrasts with the warm wood. The screws are characteristically placed to complete an industrial sensibility, communicating sturdiness. This two-tone form is clean and eye catching.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 230 x 14 x 325 mm
Width mm x Depth mm x Height mm - Tags
- kitchen, cutting, serving, board, wood, hazuto
- Production Technology
- Black Walnut is selected for the wood type, due to its perfectly moderate hardness (Janka index 1010) that doesn't dull knives nor easily dent. A rich dark colour elevates the board beyond your everyday bamboo board. Edges are carefully rounded for durability and handling comfort. Food-grade 304 stainless steel is used for the rims and screws, to be long lasting and corrosion resistant. The rim has been brushed and polished multiple times, achieving a brushed effect that renders any welds miraculously invisible.
- Design Challenge
- The concept simplicity and execution are the most challenging parts.
It was not easy to fit the metal rim to be in full contact with the board, especially the corners. Our benchmark was always to have the rim in one continuous piece, as a demonstration of workmanship. We spent a long time testing options to ensure welding spot is invisible. Of many, only one metalworking supplier achieved our satisfaction.
The market variety is a benefit (for research) and a difficulty (to be original). To excite users in an over-saturated category is hard, but our design was readily accepted by our testers. - Project Duration
- Project started in October 2019, with final design completed by December 2019 and first batch samples made by 2020 January.
- Operation Flow
- No instruction manuals need to be included for the endless uses of this versatile board! Hazuto board can be used for everyday cutting, or for serving bread, cheese, salad, fruits, steak. On display, it can be hung up or used as a table condiment tray for complementing most atmospheres.
- Research
- Research: Online channels (e.g amazon, hktvmall), social media channels, industry reports.
Methodologies: Product Value radar chart, Aesthetic mapping, competitive analysis, small focus group meetings.
Impact on design: size to be small for space-conscious urban kitchens, but big enough for needs of small family. Material to be decorative and high performance (hardness, shape stability). Market analysis suggested to consider gifting, serving, decorating functions as well as everyday cutting. Warping is common issue so the screw locations are chosen to delay warping. - Inspiration
- I was partly inspired by the endless technology product varieties that seemed to encompass us now. I am drawn to some of their use of contrasting metallic elements, to bold visual results. The concept culminated from a daydreaming moment, where I thought a chopping board bound by a metal rim could look engaging and robust. Coming from a metal works background myself helped inform the rim specs. Deep dive into online retailers and industry reports gave us user expectations and trends. We ended up prototyping different materials, adjusting dimensions and features before we were happy.
- Patents
- Design registration pending in Hong Kong and China.
Trademark registration pending in HK and China.
Colors of Hazuto Cutting and Serving Board
Design Interview about Hazuto Cutting and Serving Board
I was partly inspired by the endless technology product varieties that seemed to encompass us now. I am drawn to some of their use of contrasting metallic elements, to bold visual results. The concept culminated from a daydreaming moment, where I thought a chopping board bound by a metal rim could look engaging and robust. Shouldn't have been a surprise given I work in a metal parts factory and I'm the home cook!
I wish I could tell you an epic story of how I got inspired by legendary art movements or design legends though I guess the idea just popped up through all the consumer products that touch us.
I wish I could tell you an epic story of how I got inspired by legendary art movements or design legends though I guess the idea just popped up through all the consumer products that touch us.
We just wanted to make a board we would be proud to use that looks cool, bold and eyecatchingly different. I'm sure some people out there will agree and absolutely love it too.
We are now at the ending stages of sourcing and starting to order large batches of parts. The hazuto board will be available on Amazon, eBay, HKTVmall, and many other outlets for purchase once we are ready.
The main concept was an eureka moment during a daydreaming moment, so the form and look came instantly. The details (such as screw locations, materials, rim dimensions, grit finishing) took around 2 months to be finalised.
Has it ever happened to you that sometimes an amazing product idea just pops into your mind, and you didn’t do anything about it and later on found out someone else “copied” your idea? With enough regrets already, we said to ourselves “what the hell, let’s do it”, therefore the birth of hazuto ltd. and hazuto chopping board.
We are of course open to options at the moment, but we are also having plans to produce it going forwards.
Looking back, it shouldn't have been a surprise given I work in a metal parts factory and I'm the home cook! So something for the kitchen sounds about right.
One of my favourite designs of all time is the iPhone 4. You can immediately see the similarities!
I think someone who uses the hazuto board very much is a metropolitan smaller household, people who share our enthusiasm for things well made and aesthetically desirable. There are so many alternatives for kitchen boards, from bamboo to compressed fibres to anti-bacterial plastics, someone who chooses the hazuto board almost uses it as a design fixture as well to be hung around. The lifestyle involving using serving boards could be a bit more affluent, involving cheese, salmons, fruits shared on a platter.
We also want this to be a perfect gift for those in charge of the home kitchen. With the accolades and the stunning packaging the Hazuto board will not be out of place being presented to friends and family!
We also want this to be a perfect gift for those in charge of the home kitchen. With the accolades and the stunning packaging the Hazuto board will not be out of place being presented to friends and family!
We looked at a ridiculous amount of kitchen boards. Many of them have handles screwed on, and even some of them have a corner handle, too. Lot of them were solely functional but didn't strike us as charming. The most similar one make an L-shaped metal handle that only covered the corner - it was the route taken by some makers that was easy to make. However, that left the rest of the board exposed and was no different from a single wood board nilly-willy. Some of the boards with a handle added on looked a bit adhoc, in our humble opinion.
Hazuto's one-piece metal rim set it apart because:
1) We really loved that industrial x rustic character about it.
2) A full rim protects the board from knocks and drops
3) With clever placement of the screws you can reinforce the wood board form to delay warping.
4) The handle would be tidily within the "confines" of the form, unlike most of the other kitchen boards out there with handles sticking out.
It's simply our take and our expression on a category overflowing with many other good ideas already.
Hazuto's one-piece metal rim set it apart because:
1) We really loved that industrial x rustic character about it.
2) A full rim protects the board from knocks and drops
3) With clever placement of the screws you can reinforce the wood board form to delay warping.
4) The handle would be tidily within the "confines" of the form, unlike most of the other kitchen boards out there with handles sticking out.
It's simply our take and our expression on a category overflowing with many other good ideas already.
In truth Hazuto as a word has no meaning! We just wanted a name that would be catchy and novel. Easy to pronounce, easy to find online, too.
A lot of photoshop, illustrator and freecad. We worked with another modeller to set up the STEP files.
Without a doubt the corner nook acting as a handle.
Yes, we used a freelancer modeller from Bosnia to do much of the STEP work. In our journey we also worked with 2 local wood workshops in refining the prototypes. A local lasering company helped with some of the wood etching. We had 3 Chinese suppliers making rim prototypes for us. We also met with others but the opportunity to collaborate didn't happen.
Hazuto board is a very simple product relatively speaking. But 3D modelling is helpful to mock up the aesthetics of the design, and to give consistent production instructions to different vendors.
Our research informed us the size of the board, so that it caters for a metropolitan home that is not that generous in kitchen space, but large enough for most needs including serving and chopping. Of course the wood type in terms of hardness, durability, and suitability is chosen too.
We found it was not easy to match the rim to touch all the sides of the wood boards! Especially when you have different suppliers making metal rim and woods. Secondly, the inevitable welding spot that forms the rim took a lot of labour to polish and erase.
We decided to only submit to the most well-known and rigorous awards - for us winning would be a validation and marketing tool to progress. Only the best awards will fulfill those requirements. As we are a small team, cost is also a consideration.
I was grateful for all the additional tips on product photography and presentation guidelines given by the A' award. In the process I also spent a lot of time combing design award winners - this further informed my copywriting.
Come catch us at info@hazuto.com.hk! We'd love to chat and meet new people.