rufus

Rufus is a rotary drive kitchen tool that seeks for a deeper user-product connection by using a customer assembly approach. This leads to a better understanding of the product and the resources used. It increases the personal demand for a long life cycle, eventually counteracting the dramatic amounts of small electric equipment which end up in the residual waste instead of proper recycling facilities.

Maintenance and repair are facilitated by an easy access to the inside of the device via a visible screw and permanently integrated instructions as well as a service tool, stored inside the handle; they are all an inherent part of the whole user-experience. The motor’s lifespan is being documented by a mechanical counter mechanism. Rufus’ driving unit can be combined with several tools to save independent products from the outset. The enameled metal housing creates a ceramic, object-like appearance which reduces the perceived date of expiry associated with modern technology and communicates newly defined values.

The concept is based on a broad research concerning e-waste and repairability and interviews with users and repair specialists like Sepp Eisenriegler. The enameled housing parts were validated by specialists of the Austrian manufacturer Riess.