Wandering Hearthfire Portable Grill
2023 | Core 77 Design Award Winner
Embedded Files
10-week project
Industrial Design
CMF Design
User-Experience Design
Physical Prototyping
User Research
The Client
The Client
Chef'n tasked us with creating a portable outdoor cooker in our sponsored studio. I was inspired by the philosophy of Chef'n and its roots in both novel kitchen devices and light-hearted designs. This project led me to re-think the traditional way we cook over a wood-burning fire with a delightful and approachable product.
Approach
Approach
Wandering Hearthfire is a portable firepit that enhances the culinary experience. I wanted to draw on the ancient history of wood-fired cooking and develop a product that allows people to build skill and confidence in both cooking and fire-making. With the help of Chef'n's design team I explored the intersection of innovation and tradition, and developed a design that can transition from kitchen to campfire.
Project Brief:
Design a portable fire pit.
Preliminary Survey
People love having fires with friends.
And people enjoy cooking outdoors.
“it’s more fun to cook with your friends, and having hot food is nice, especially if it’s cold out.”
Caleb, 21 years old
“I love cooking outdoors. There are few thoughts more happy than the thought of watching your burger sizzle on the grill while surrounded by nature and friends. I would also argue that cooking an item yourself creates a larger feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment when consuming the item.”
Blake, 25 years old
“[I would cook outdoors] if my grill were easy to set up and carry. I don’t often cook on a grill on picnics because I don’t always want to set up the charcoal starter and I don’t own any camp-cooking equipment.”
Sally, 48 years old
What do people dislike about cooking outdoors?
“[I don’t cook] much unless camping counts but grilling is so fun I’d like to do it more, but it can take a lot more effort than just bringing prepared food and I personally don’t eat meat very much.”
Carly, 22 years old
“Yes [I would cook], depending on the setting. If it’s a company picnic with 100’s of employees, cooking our own food would be tedious; best to leave it to a grill. If it’s a small gathering with friends, cooking our own food builds a much more personalized experience and gives us something to do while we talk.”
Margaret, 42 years old
“It seems like a lot of work to cook on a picnic and would distract from hanging out.”
Graham, 23 years old
Preliminary Survey Insights
55% of people take a car over other forms of transport to get to outdoor cookouts.
There is a desire for a fun, relaxing, and enjoyable atmosphere with friends and food when cooking outdoors with flame, gas, or charcoal.
Respondents express “I want to try” and an openness to learning new things.
Problems:
It’s difficult to cook with fire.
It can take a lot of work to cook and have fun.
People often have both grill and bonfire on cookouts.
Benchmarking & Review Insights
What online reviewers liked about their grills:
What reviewers disliked about their grills:
How can I design a firepit that enhances both the cooking experience and atmosphere of a cookout?
Design Opportunities
Atmosphere. Fire is social. The product should transition between a cooking device and a bonfire with ease.
Culinary ease and control. People want something that cooks well. The product should enhance the chef's ability to cook over open flame.
Size
The product should fit easily in a trunk. It should also be easy to carry to and from a gathering.
Set up
Has to be fast, efficient, and simple. Should not take away from having fun at a BBQ.
Clean up
The product should contain its mess and be easy to disassemble for transport home.
Product Landscape
CMF + Form Research
Target Persona
Product Concepts
Preliminary Concept Sketching
Culinary Ease & Control
Atmosphere & Simplicity
Core Design Features
The firepit’s grilling surfaces are removable. There is a slatted grilling surface and an additional flat cooking surface.
This makes it easy to cook a variety of meat- and plant-based food.
The grill’s surfaces are made from steel, which is durable and easy to clean.
A place for flame, sear, and sauté
Size & Portability
The firepit is no bigger than a cooler, and designed to be easily carried to and from a gathering.
Transition from grill to group
Cleaning and Maintenance
The bottom of the firepit houses a removable pan to collect ash. The grate holds the fire and lets in air.
The grill’s deliberately simple construction means that it is easy to clean and maintain.
Colors, Materials, and Finishes
Colors
There is opportunity for different colorways, and a potential to have a customizable “mix-and-match” option when a customer purchases the product.
Materials
Wood is a naturally insulative material, and was the choice for touchpoints because of how it harmonizes not only with the product's colors and finishes, but also its functions and tone.
Asymmetrical Design & Innovation
Temperature Separation
The red crossbar holds burning logs in place, preventing the hottest fire from burning food.
Efficient Airflow
Ample air delivery facilitates easy fires even in windy conditions and by inexperienced pyrotechnicians.
Air & Fuel Diagram
The fire burns hottest on one side of the firepit. Air is drawn from the perforations below the fire grate.
By moving burning coals from the hot side of the firepit the chef can control the temperature of their cooking surfaces while the group can still enjoy a nice flame.
Unlike the current market solutions, this design maximizes the versatility of fire.
Thank you to my professor Jason Germany, my classmates, and the design team at Chef'n for their valuable critique and guidance!
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