Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Friendly Carton Pourer
A carton handle and holder so easy to grip that even an injured hand can pour with three fingers.
- Year
- 2022
- Reading
- 03 min
- Figures
- 06
Cartons straight from the fridge are cold and slippery, and for people with a weaker grip — elderly people, or expectant mothers with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome — pouring from one is hard. I designed an ergonomic, stone-shaped handle on a minimal frame holder, refined over 17 rounds of tweaks and tests with different user groups.
- Role
- Research, design, prototyping & user testing
- Disciplines
- Ergonomics
- Inclusive Design
- Industrial Design
- User Testing
- Tools
- Sketching & marker rendering / Cardboard & foam models / CAD / FEA / 3D printing
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome reduces the hand’s muscle strength — and a cold, slippery carton straight from the fridge demands exactly the grip it takes away.
Comfortable — but not too comfortable
My first idea was a grip handle that did one thing: provide maximum comfort. Evaluating it changed the brief. A user shouldn’t get so comfortable with the handle that they lose awareness of the carton they’re holding.
Further research pointed the same way: people stay most aware of something they hold with less contact. So the improved handle had to be easy to grip without being awkward, while keeping the user’s attention on holding it tight.
Fig. 02Mind map, September 2022 — from aim to design solution.
If I asked you to hold a bottle by gripping your hands around it, you would pay less attention to it than if I told you to hold it only using your fingertips, by its cap.”
Seventeen rounds
From napkin sketches I developed six initial designs and scored them on radar charts — target market, production constraints, aesthetics, material, size, quantity and function. The strongest went on to low-fidelity cardboard and foam models, CAD and test prints, each tried in different hands.
After 17 rounds of tweaks and tests with different user groups, the final handle resembles a stone: it is gripped with one hand without touching the lower palm. That position gives a firm grip without sacrificing comfort — or attention.
Regular hands, injured hands
I tested the handle through the whole pouring motion — resting position, slight tilt, maximum wrist tilt — with regular and injured hands. Even with an injured finger, the wrist tilts easily into the pouring position.
An FEA stress analysis of the finger, palm and thumb contact areas, at loads up to 200 N, showed no signs of deflection, high stress or breaking.
Rubberised padding on the front and back of the handle adds friction for an easier grip.
Fig. 05Elevation tests, FEA and grip tests with injured hands
Fig. 06Front and back rubberised paddings
Design decisions
- 01
Stone-shaped handle
Gripped with one hand without touching the lower palm: firm and comfortable, but never so relaxed that you forget the carton.
- 02
Rubberised padding
Paddings on both sides of the handle increase friction for an easier grip.
- 03
Frame holder
An open frame cuts down on raw material and keeps the information printed on the carton visible.
- 04
Three-finger grip
Users gave it a thumbs up: even people with hand injuries can comfortably grip the handle with just three fingers.
- 05
Young and old
User testing with both young children and older people returned positive feedback.
17
rounds of tweaks and tests with different user groups
3
fingers are enough to grip it, even with a hand injury
200 N
FEA stress load with no deflection or breaking
End of case — Carton Pourer
06 Make · 21 / 23
