Matt Brown


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Slow Design: taglieri
project 20% complete

Pictured below is a Tagliere, a cutting board. When it was brand new (30+ years ago) it was completely flat. After time, and a lot of chopping with a half-rounded blade, it developed a groove. It works better now than it did 20 years ago, thanks to this perfect groove. What if we could make 3D scans of these wonderfully worn cutting boards, and mill out new cutting boards with these tried and tested grooves?

slow

I thought that this was great- the groove has a pure kind of design and functionality.

slow1

pictured above is a different tagliere, from a different family. This example is about 27 years old.

Above is a new picture of a 25 year old cutting board. One groove got too deep, so a new groove started getting developed.

My goal for this project is to see these wear patterns for what they really are, slow design that eventually makes the product perfect. So far I've been experimenting with turning several pictures into a 3D model with a little bit of success. I've observed three cutting boards to date, each one with a perfect, beautifully worn groove in the center. Eventually, once I get enough data on the boards, and my models are lookging good, I'll send them off to my friend Mark to get them milled out. Many updates to come...