The main goal of this kitchen sponge redesign project was to make washing dishes more hygienic and less wasteful. Old kitchen sponges host a large amount of bacteria, and people struggle to determine the right time to throw them away. Since the rectangle handheld sponge is so popular, our main challenge was to create a new design that would have a higher benefit and equal cost so that people would not go back to the traditional, unhygienic sponge.

For this project, I collaborated with four other UC San Diego undergraduates to collect user data and use the data to brainstorm and finalize our best possible solution. We didn’t want to settle on an angle too quickly, so we brainstormed and sketched all the ideas we could think of and weighed their pros and cons before settling on our final redesign.

After considering both the option of a sponge cleaner with a handle and normal handle-less options, we chose to design a kitchen sponge with a handle. Even though handle-less options are more traditional and common, kitchen sponges with a handle are the more sanitary option and can be used to control soap dispensing which would eventually cancel out the costs.

The group and I also came up with an additional aspect of adding a color changing aspect to the sponge. The unique, added factor will tell people when to switch out the sponge or when there is soap residue still left on the sponge.

From this project, I learned how to work with a group of my peers to think outside of the box and not settle on a design until I have examined every angle, scenario, and need I can think of. This project also reminded me how iterative the design process is, since my teammates and I would update our designs after each round of feedback.

In addition, I learned how important it was to put a lot of time into the need-finding and research aspect of design. Interview responses really did set the baseline for the project. If I were to do this project over again, I would have observed more individuals using sponges and washing dishes before finalizing the biggest areas to redesign.