switch salt and pepper shaker by chetan sorab from india

INSPIRATION:
Switch inspires from an electric switch since a regular electric switch brings in an element of playfulness by giving the user the ability to do an action and see the reaction. eg. Pushing a light switch to switch on or switch off a light bulb. This creates the element of interest and playfulness.It's observed that kids and elders alike have fun switching on and switching off a light bulb. It gives them immense amount of joy and satisfaction. The same fun factor has been captured in "Switch" shaker and makes it fun and playful to use.

RESEARCH ABSTRACT:
For "Switch" the most important research was desk research. It helped me understand the kind of products and competition already existing in the market. I was very keen that the product I would be making has to be unique and humor based, so my research direction was more metaphorical and I was very keen on looking at how to incorporate playfulness and fun into the product.

UNIQUE PROPERTIES:
Switch is a humble salt and pepper shaker which allows one to switch between salt and pepper at the press of a button. The body has two chambers to avoid mixing and depending on the switch position allowing either salt or pepper to release. The key features of the product are : 1) Convenient to carry during outdoor travel and trips. 2) Single unit contains both salt and pepper 3) Easy to flip between salt and pepper with the push of a button 4) Comfortable to store and refill the containers 5) Easy to lock by moving the button in the in between position 6) Made in food grade plastic

OPERATION:
The salt and pepper shaker can be used by pressing S(Salt) or P(Pepper) according to your requirement marked on the switch button. By pressing either one of them the other side closes. This allows the contents to fall from the side which is pressed. Since there is a single unit for both salt and pepper shaker it saves your table space. The product is easy to refill, just slide the two members on the rear and it exposes two separate containers to hold salt and pepper.

CHALLENGE:
The crucial challenge for this project was to get the salt and pepper holes to open when the respective side button of "P" or "S" was pressed. This was difficult because the kind of mechanism which we used earlier would just not allow the push plunger to move ahead because the contents within the chamber. The contents of salt and pepper when filled in the container would act like a solid and would not allow the plunger to move ahead. Finally after lot of experimentation we were able to replace the plunger to a rotary mechanism and this helped us achieve the opening motion when the switch was pressed.

PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY:
Injection molded ABS(food grade). Glossy finish. Available in white color.

DIMENSION / PACKAGE / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES:
60X35X40 mm(LXBXW), Packaged in a transparent molded plastic film which is self standing for retail purpose and has a slot for hanging.