Concept design for Fortnum & Mason, London

When we make a dessert from scratch, we smile and we are so proud of what we just made. We feel like it is an act of artistry.

The automata has the ability to involve a guest in the creation of a dessert to give them the feeling of being involved. An experiment shows us that 70% to 30% is a good balance of feeling involved in the process of making. You can feel the joy of creation while saving effort. It is the right amount of personalization to make the cake even more tasteful.

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‘Sweet machine’ is a sugar-sifting machine that makes rough sugar to the most fine, high quality sugar to decorate your delicious cake. At the end you can decorate your cake with an extra layer of cinnamon in a specific pattern and to finish you can add some small sugar sweets.

The design process started with inspiration from the beautiful illustrations of Heath Robinson. Robinson was an English cartoonist and illustrator best known for drawings of ridiculously complicated machines for achieving the simple of tasks. For example, peeling potatoes as the picture shows. In my first sketch his influence is easy to see. After this drawing I did a small trial with a cupcake and with this knowledge I designed the first technical drawings followed by creating the first prototype by hand.

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