Design Cohesion
Challenge: design a family of objects with the a specific setting and trio of driving adjectives
Type: solo project
Duration: 6 weeks
Tools used: pen/paper, Solidworks, Keyshot, 3D printer,
Cup Family
The Event: to be had with a slice of cake.
The Driving Adjectives: sharp. light. sweet.
We were tasked to design a coffee set; a cup, a saucer, and a spoon. I am not a big fan of coffee (too bitter), and wondered how to get inspired by this project. Then I remembered dinners with my parents. When we’re out at restaurants, the waiter would ask if anyone wanted dessert. My sweet tooth is insatiable, so I always want dessert. My parents would order the coffee.
Sharp
In the shape and geometries of the set. Sharpness, to echo the sharpness of a slice of cake.
Light
Both in the perceived weight of the set, and how the graphic treatment reacts with light. Light, to offset the heaviness of a dessert.
Sweet
The overall impression of the set. How each piece fits with each other, and how the set inspires the thought of sugar.
Then came the hard part: incorporating these seemingly arbitrary words in a coffee set design. I decided to do the only reasonable thing, and design mugs inspired by cakes. After some rapid sketching and a lot of Pinterest recipes, I narrowed it down to 5 ideas: tiramisu, chocolate cake, wedding cake, red velvet cake, and upside down cake. I felt especially interested in the chocolate cake idea, because of how a thicker wall could protect the hands from the heat of the drink.
I soon learned that a single thick wall would prove difficult in manufacturing, because the whole cup wouldn’t dry evenly. So I went forward in drawing, exploring ways to fix this problem, while still keeping the essence of the cup’s design. .
The spoon.
While trying to thin down the walls, I came to the idea of having a pocket in the wall for the spoon. This brought a stronger feeling of cohesiveness to the design, where the pieces could actually interlock and fit within each other, becoming one entity. Eventually, I knocked down the wall in between the spoon pocket and the mug, creating a more singular entity. Many more sketches followed, exploring the shape of the spoon pocket, as well as the wall cutout.
What is the function of the spoon, and how does it form led to that function? Perhaps the spoon looks a lot like a measuring teaspoon.
No matter what, the spoon must stay in the pocket. It can’t fall out into the coffee.
I wanted the spoon to fit perfectly in the angles of its pocket.
Material treatment
I had originally imagined the cup with a gradient graphic treatment. Either metal to ceramic, glass to ceramic, etc. Something between materials. But then I realized the manufacturing behind that kind of product would be expensive, if not impossible. So I decided to try to get the same effect with one material, tinted glass, by playing with the thickness of the walls. The rendering to the left show how the mug gets lighter near the top, as the walls thin.
I learned a lot at midpoint. My renderings showed my intended gradient, but the thickness of the spoon side created a dark, heavy tumor. My model, which was made of chipboard, gave some insight into how uncomfortable the handle I designed actually was. I was also informed that it is actually impossible to drink from a flat sided cup, something I hadn’t even realized up to this point. So moving forward, I knew I had a few more details to figure out.
Immediately, I cut down the point of the spoon side. This would thin down that heavy wall, while also moving away from the “creamer” look that my mug had before. I curved the inner walls of the mug, and I designed a new handle with an upwards point, to mirror the upwards point of the spoon when it’s in its pocket. I printed this new design out in some translucent material. This test revealed that the slight curve I implemented in the walls was still not enough to make it a usable mug.
I explored different graphics for the cup, while still staying close to my intended thinning glass effect. I was interested by the stripes of color/metal, which were similar to the layers of a cake.
Final model.
The final models of the set, complete with mug, saucer and spoon. I ended up curving the inner and outer walls more dramatically, and the final print proved to be a working cup for drinking. The curve was still gradual enough, however, to keep the coffee in a thin layer going towards the user’s lips. This allowed the drink to cool on the way. This minor detail brought my idea back to heat protection, which is what originally interested me about this particular design.
The manufacturing process had a big influence on the final design. It would be made in a glass press mold, so the inside spoon pocket had to be completely tapered in the correct direction.
The spoon pocket changed dramatically between the last two iterations. The taper had to be completely reversed to accommodate my intended manufacturing process, and the inner walls were angled to thin at the top, instead of being parallel. It’s also more obvious here how the wall thickness and radius changed, to accommodate being able to drink. I also added fillets to the corners and edges. Not only would a perfectly sharp edge of a glass mug be dangerous to hold, but it’d also be impossible to manufacture.
The evolution of the spoons, with a few failed prints. The first chipboard model was mostly for reference in the space, but I realized a straight spoon would put the user in danger of being poked in the eye when drinking, so the other iterations have a slight curve of the spine. The pink spoon looked too much like a measuring spoon, so for the final iteration, I angled the bottom, and smoothed out the corners.
In the end, I felt confident that I had
successfully translated my driving adjectives
into a coffee set. Sharp is displayed in the
corners of the saucer, the handle of the
cup, and the angles present in both the
spoon, and its pocket. Light is shown in the
interaction of light with the coffee set. How
light passes through the tinted glass and
reflects off of the silver accents. And how
the saucer tapers out at such an angle that
make it look like it is lifted off of the table,
floating. Sweet is found in the idea of the
set. How the stripes invoke the layers of a
cake, and how the angles of the cup taper
in, suggesting the point of a slice of cake.
Beyond.
In review, I received great feedback on the graphic treatment of my plate. I was too focused on making sure the mug read “sweet,” that I made the “cake” too literal. I decided to go back into Solidworks one more time to render some more graphic ideas. Simpler ideas, that would compliment the cake on the table, rather than mirror it. I believe this last change does more justice to my design as a set, and creates a cleaner aesthetic connection between sharp, light, and sweet.
The final design keeps the tinted glass saucer, with a ceramic mug. The mug has the same accents of silver on the handle and the feet, while also displaying a thin stripe of glass. This stripe ties the design back to the saucer, while still playing of the stripes in a layered cake.
I rendered this stripe in silver as well, but I decided the glass created more cohesiveness between the elements. This way, both the spoon and the saucer can be found in the silver and glass accents of the cup. Finally, the slight curve of the handle now better reflects the curve of the spoon.
