Taste of Home

New Housewares for a Legacy Brand

Developed and launched 4 lines of cookware and bakeware for a publication that was licensing their brand for the first time.

Completed as the Director as New Product Development at Range Kleen.

collection of metal bakeware that is grey and has a geometric pattern stamped into the bottom
collection of metal bakeware that is grey and has a geometric pattern stamped into the bottom
Project Summary

My Role
Product Designer and Product Manager

Project Length
1 Year

Research

Learn about brand, users, and market

Design, CAD, graphic treatments, and prototyping

Factory sourcing, quoting, pricing, manufacture and approval of 4 different product types

26 new products

Development

Production

Launch

Phases

What products should we create?

Initial Research

  • Survey Taste of Home readers

  • Analysis of Taste of Home's most popular recipes

  • What is the Taste of Home brand?

  • Interviews with the Taste of Home test kitchen team

  • Market and competitive research

Cover of the Taste of Home Fall Recipes magazine
Cover of the Taste of Home Fall Recipes magazine
RESEARCH

  • Product testing

  • Inspiration from old props they use for photography

stacks of metal bakeware at a retail store
stacks of metal bakeware at a retail store
cast iron cookware at a retail store
cast iron cookware at a retail store
unfrosted chocolate cake with an embossed pattern on the top
unfrosted chocolate cake with an embossed pattern on the top
cast iron grill with cooked vegetables
cast iron grill with cooked vegetables
old metal bakeware with embossed geometric pattern
old metal bakeware with embossed geometric pattern

What will they look like?

Metal Bakeware

  1. Inspiration for pattern from mid-century bakeware and tin ceilings

  2. Refine the scale of the pattern

  3. Technical drawings

  4. Prototyping - metal and 3D printing

variety of triangle-based geometric patterns
variety of triangle-based geometric patterns
DEVELOPMENT
3D printed parts painted grey so they look like metal bakeware
3D printed parts painted grey so they look like metal bakeware
small piece of metal with an embossed pattern and the underside of a cookie that was cooked on it
small piece of metal with an embossed pattern and the underside of a cookie that was cooked on it
technical drawing of a hexagonal pattern
technical drawing of a hexagonal pattern

Aluminum Cookware

  1. Factory visit (Italy)

  2. Colors and printing

  3. Fittings and specifications

  4. Pricing and quantities

Cast Iron

  1. Requests from Taste of Home

  2. Reading reviews and testing reports

  3. Testing competitive samples

  4. Discussion with factory

  5. CAD

  6. Colors. logos, and specifications

Ceramic

  1. Decision on what pieces to design

  2. Feature development

  3. Textural pattern and color placement

  4. CAD

  5. Collaboration with factory

samples and swatches of different colors of blue and teal
samples and swatches of different colors of blue and teal
Taste of Home branded skillet
Taste of Home branded skillet
samples of teal cookware handles
samples of teal cookware handles
specification page for a cast iron dutch oven with grill lid
specification page for a cast iron dutch oven with grill lid
specification page for a cast iron skillet
specification page for a cast iron skillet
page calling out changes needed to some cast iron cookware
page calling out changes needed to some cast iron cookware
a cast iron and aluminum pot compared with a color chip
a cast iron and aluminum pot compared with a color chip
specification page for a 9 by 13 inch rectangular ceramic dish
specification page for a 9 by 13 inch rectangular ceramic dish
specification page for a 9 by 13 inch rectangular ceramic dish in a different color
specification page for a 9 by 13 inch rectangular ceramic dish in a different color
renderings of 4 different colors of a ceramic cassarole dish
renderings of 4 different colors of a ceramic cassarole dish

Aluminum Cookware

Taste of Home and I tested and approved samples that had the correct materials, sizes, shapes, and handles, but didn’t have the right colors. The factory matched the specified Pantone color well.

Bringing the Designs to Life

PRODUCTION

Metal Bakeware

There was a bit of trial and error getting the embossed pattern on the bottom to come out consistently during production.

Cast Iron

The factory had provided useful feedback on the designs and good CAD for confirmation before tooling. The first off-tool samples were pretty good and we were able to approve them for production quickly.

Ceramic

The factory had evidently not reviewed the CAD before providing the quotes, which caused many issues later. Ceramic is a much more variable material than I am used to designing for, so many of the pieces ended up a bit smaller than I had intended and the glaze covers up a fair amount of the detail.

Approved Products

LAUNCH

What I Learned from this Project

  • Balancing new designs with existing technologies can be challenging, especially when on tight timelines.

  • Working with new materials (or technologies in general) can add extra time to a project.

  • Be sure to confirm that whoever is executing the design truly understands the design intent and all included features.

MAJOR TAKEAWAYS
brown fountain pen on notebook
brown fountain pen on notebook
Email

hello@heathercurtin.com

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