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River/Lake

River/Lake

Arnaud GAUTHIER
August 18, 2017
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River/Lake is a two face kitchen cutting board which results from an ergonomic and gesture research.
The Lake face presents a slope made to collect the meat juice when we carve it. Then we can easily pour it in a bowl or an other ustensil due to its place in an angle.
The River face is made with a channel open on both sides of the board. It allows to collect parts of vegetables, fruits or other food we mince, and put it easily in a pan and make it easier to clean.
The design of River/Lake reinterprets the traditional elements of a cutting board to purpose a new way to use it, more ergonomic and more intuitive.



When I was student, I worked on a project about the kitchen and the cooking techniques. My reflection was on how to make cooking more intuitive and on multi-purpose ustensils. So I created a cooking table and an ustensils collection (pans, stoves, an oven which works with volcanic stones and steamer baskets), I worked with traditional materials like earthenware and since this project I wanted to continue this reflection.

As a designer I love to work on useful and ergonomic objects. I love cooking but I've always thought that the design of standards cutting boards was not really adapted to the gestures we make when we prepare food. So I analysed a lot of models and all the gestures we make when we prepare food to create a cutting board with a more ergonomic design. For example, the traditional channel all around the standard board is not useful when you prepare vegetables or fruits and is hard to clean. I'm really interested by the conception of sustainable products and materials. I choose beech because wood is the traditional material for cutting boards and is not too hard to preserve knife blades.
My other projects are based on a reflection about utility, ergonomy, the way we use the objects. I create confrontations between traditional and modern style, between two materials. I like to work with traditional materials with a modern style and ideas can come from a detail on a picture or a movie or from an article about new life styles.


My passion is drawing and for all my projects I draw a lot. For this cutting board the analyse was very important to define the ergonomic principles of the design I wanted to make. I made some sketches to find the shape and after I made a first handmade prototype. Then I analysed the dimensions and made some 3D modeling and plans on Rhinoceros 3D and Keyshot. Then I thought about the process I would like to make the object. I made myself a last handmade prototype for the International Biennale of Design in Saint-Etienne and now I'm looking for a manufacturer to produce the cutting board.






During the exhibition for the International Biennale of Design I met a lot of visitors who asked me to explain my projects and I received good feedback about my cutting board. I learned that the visitors can tell you informations about the defaults they see and it's always interesting to talk with them to make better projects because a designer doesn't work for himself but for people.

Freelance designer based in Saint-Etienne, France, I create furniture, objects, lamps and some graphic design projects. Since I was a child I have a real passion for drawing so I'm also an illustrator.
My work is leaded by the conception of useful projects based on a reflection on ergonomy, ecodesign or intuitive concepts. My inspiration come from my curiosity about ancient and modern cultures all around the world. It can be a detail in a picture, a movie. I like to understand how and why materials are used in different cultures and I try to interpret it in a modern style. For me, the shape of my projects are often the result of the reflection about the use, the ergonomy or the materials and is not the starting point of my work.

Arnaud GAUTHIER

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