Design Boom

The Cupdesign by Torsten Werner from Germany

"a process series in porcelain. the idea of a hidden goblet under a slipping skin. eight steps from a double-walled teacup in the morning to a shooter at the end of the day. the next form in the flow of the day is always included in the ones before. every single cup is intended to hold a special kind of liquid, which can be defined individually. the first form is about 11 to 7,5 centimetres - the last about 6,5 to 7,5 centimetre. THE CUP series is made out of white porcelain. a special slip casting mould is necessary therefore. the separate casted/pressed stem is joined onto the bottom of the cuppa afterwards. the surface is glazed."

I am still interested in the idea of a series of pieces, I feel I have been focusing too much on single pieces recently. I like the way that each cup here is intended for a different drink, this is something I am considering at the moment.

Behavior labdesign by Guus Kusters from the Netherlands

"When we get a new product, in time we get used to it. It starts to join in our routine and stops being new. But wouldn’t it be logical, that when we get accustomed to using a product, the product would get accustomed to our behavior of that use?” Behavior lab is a level white tea set, which creates a customised pattern. The porcelain is slightly porous and has a non glazed pattern. Baked on a specific temperature to evaporate through the material, but not absorb liquids. By this the colours of the drank tea will slowly start filling the exterior pattern of the set. But not only the colours have an effect on the pattern. Also the speed of drinking, the heat, the strength and type of tea and even the time between drinking and cleaning will create a unique identity to the set every time. The pattern on the cup is a line of dots and a unique cup number like in a laboratory strip of paper. By this the viewer can analyse the drinking behaviour of the user by “reading” the cup. It tells you the dialog of user and product."

I have seen other pieces that use this unglazed pattern technique to allow the tea to stain it. I wish I had thought of this!! It is a really interesting idea, maybe I can take it as a starting point for something similar?

Pokodesign by Mark Braun from Germany

"'poko' is a tea set with a special haptic surface. With its newly created surface 'poko' enhances the sensual pleasure of drinking tea. A fine layer of glass drops has been melted onto the outside of the porcelain cup, creating an extraordinary grip - not only for the sake of its ergonomic function, but for the sensual experience, as well. 'poko' was given a very minimal, simple shape to carry off this unique new design."

I chose this as the combination of ceramic and glass seems very successful and creates a good surface texture.

Palettedesign by Peter Pless + Sam Chung from the USA

"Palette reinterprets the traditional ritual of drinking coffee and tea by giving its user the ability to create the ideal cup of coffee or tea in a self-contained and portable composition. It functions successfully in the context of a quiet morning at home just as easily as it does in a more formal, social gathering. Palette consists of a cup and two small pouring vessels that contain the accompaniments of choice (milk, cream, honey, sugar) for the perfect morning drink, all nestled within a balanced and mobile tray. Sensual surfaces and detailed glazing provide a rich contrast to the raw porcelain as well as indicating points of contact for each individual element."

I will investigate milling directly into plaster, but I think this is not approved of as it damages the machine? I like the way they have included images of the process.

Within projectdesign by Yoav Reches from Israel

"the project 'within' consists of three ceramic products: a rotating vase, a set of 'soft-skin' bowls and a tea set. all made from casted earthenware and polyethylene foam. the two materials are combined in order to explore the relationship between the product and its package, and to propose new ways in which these two can co-exist. technique: slip-casting, CNC milling."

I would like to spend some time thinking about packaging. It is interesting how they have used the packaging as a tray for the tea set.

Images and text from DesignBoom.com