SafeTouch: Ergonomic Cookware for Safer, Independent Cooking
As people age, staying independent at home becomes
increasingly important to maintaining comfort, confidence,
and a sense of normalcy. Yet, everyday tasks can
become unsafe due to declining physical and cognitive
ability. SafeTouch reimaginines cookware
for older adults who wish to cook safely, comfortably, and
independently, letting users stay active in their kitchens,
longer. By combining thoughtful ergonomics with advanced
heat management, SafeTouch transforms a familiar
object into an empowering everyday tool.
Academic research and stakeholder insights revealed a powerful connection between physical decline, mental health, and independence, showing that losing the ability to perform simple daily tasks deeply affects confidence and wellbeing. While most older adults wish to age in place, everyday activities like cooking can become daunting and unsafe. Yet, few products truly support this meaningful part of life.
The opportunity
This project reimagines kitchen safety to restore the comfort, control, and dignity of older adults in the kitchen. By empowering users to cook safely and confidently, it celebrates independence and the joy of maintaining everyday rituals at home for as long as possible.
Product Proposal
Introducing SafeTouch, a frying pan that stays cool to the touch without sacrificing cooking performance. Designed for comfort, control, and confidence in the kitchen, its lightweight body and ergonomic form make everyday cooking effortless. The dual-handle system offers flexible grip options, letting users lift and pour with ease, perfect for anyone with reduced strength, arthritis, or hand tremors. SafeTouch redefines kitchen safety, empowering older adults to cook independently, comfortably, and without compromise.
Key features
Ergonomics: Lightweight Design with Dual Handles
Designed to be lightweight and comfortable for users with reduced grip strength, arthritis, or hand tremors.
Dual handle design enables versatile and comfortable lifting and pouring. The primary handle has a convex underside to provide mechanical leverage, reducing wrist strain and the force needed for lifting. The secondary handle allows for an optional two-handed grip, offering extra support and various grip options based on the user’s personal comfort or physical ability.
Safety: Fins and Cool-to-Touch Bumper
The addition of ribbed fins along the pan’s exterior increases surface area, promoting heat dispersion. Also, as air is the poorest conductor of heat, I also incorporated a 5mm air gap between the pan base and the outer silicone bumper, creating a thermos inspired effect. The only two contact points between the pan and the silicone are around the inside lip where the bumper is secured and underneath the handles in order to optimise this effect and to direct the hot air out the bottom between the two pieces.
Through simulation, I was able to reduce the external surface temperature of the frying pan on high heat from around 200 degrees Celsius to roughly 40 degrees, representing an 80% reduction in heat transfer to the outer surface.
Use: Cleanliness and Assembly
The bumper was designed to be removed at any time, allowing users to take it off and clean it with ease. Then, to reassemble: the bumper is placed on an flat surface, the pan can be lowered into it, and the bumper can be flexed around the edges of the pan locking into the female ledge running around the inside rim. This locking ledge not only ensures the silicone remains securely aligned during cooking but also forms a flush seal with the pan wall to prevent food
Value
Overall, every aspect of this design, from heat management and ergonomic comfort, effectively enables safe, independent cooking for older adults, while still feeling like a normal, desirable household product, not a clinical aid.
While the SafeTouch pan has been designed with older adults in mind, it can ultimately be used by any user. The added ergonomic and safety considerations are useful for any individual and could prove incredibly useful around children and for those living with disabilities. Also, the familiar and approachable aesthetic is available in multiple colourways, designed to fit perfectly into any kitchen.
“Food is symbolic of love when words are inadequate”
– Alan D. Wolfelt
Lara Duggan
An enthusiastic creative, passionate about good design in ordinary things. Fascinated by how creativity meets function and design for manufacture, I love uncovering smart, beautiful solutions that quietly make life easier. Drawn to the simplicity of well-designed everyday objects, I find joy in the details that make things just work.
