Megan Jackson
Industrial Design and Technology
Final year project
Kombucha home brewing: Making the process more desirable
Ideation Sketches
Sketches from the ideation phase. Exploring forms and shapes, experimenting with a base concept for heating the Kombucha.
Ceramic Pots
I hand made all pots via slip casting. A plaster, two part mould was created from a 3D printed form, followed by slip casting and glazing. Six pots were made in total to account for potential damages within the kiln and firing process. Some pots that cracked due to dunting and were repaired with the Japanese method of kintsugi.
Detailing
Red ceramic buttery glaze with red oxide stain.
Fermentation Base
Base upon which Kombucha brewing pots sit. The heat provided from within the base allows the Kombucha to brew at a desired temperature. By heating Kombucha, different flavours can be achieved though experimentation, or allow for quicker brew time in colder climates.
Testing
Due to the unpredictability of pottery, numerous pots were manufactured, in the event they failed: In total, 3 sets were made. Here you can see the difference in colours created by one single glaze. The colours create a warm tone, akin to the colours seen in a Japanese spring. With warm inviting pink and natural tone, this product welcomes you to use it.
Megan Jackson
I first heard about kombucha just over a year ago. The home brew I first tasted was sweet and odly sour, a trademark flavour of Kombucha. The more I found out through research, the more I believed the UK market was set to explode in popularity imminently. I believe my project will increase awareness further of this amazing gut friendly drink and encourage people to choose Kombucha as their new healthy drink of choice.
As a designer, I like to be hands on and actively play a part in designing and developing a product. This is demonstrated in the variety of processes I have used to achieve the modern oriental aesthetic including; slip casting, CNC machining and 3D printing. My placement as a technician helped to nurture my technical and model making skills with increasing confidence in digital presentation. My skills, alongside practical creativity include organisation, communication and management. During my placement I co-tutored a form tutor of 32 students, which consisted of managing communications between students, parents and the school, running bespoke individual tutorials and crafting personal development lessons. I also re-developed and tested the Year 9 food technology recipe catalogue, and introduced a cooking scheme for 6th form students to increase their knowledge and confidence in the kitchen before they headed to university. During my placement year, I won Starpack Gold and Sponsor prize for a Point of Sale brief. I received work experience at Smurfit Kappa with their in-house design team. I thoroughly enjoyed the competition and the work experience and am interested to learn more about the point of sale (POS) industry, both permanent and temporary, including retail design and pop up shops. To further my POS skillset I have reentered Starpack alongside Student POPAI competition. With this in mind, a career goal and dream of mine is to design a major window display for a prominent department store.
Awards
'19 Diploma in Professional Studies '18 Starpack Gold and Smurfit Kappa Brief Winner
Experience
Smurfit Kappa/Display UK Temporary Point Of Sale Work Experience
Placements
09/2017 - 07/2018
Queen Elizabeths School, Barnet: Design and Technology Technician and Teaching Assistant