CupText

"After thousands of years of ceramic history you might think there is nothing significant left to try in the design of cups with handles. The fact that unusual mugs usually are awkward to use would reinforce this idea. However, after years of designing ceramics, I realized that all conventional coffee cup designs were determined more by the manufacturing and design processes than by the needs of the coffee cup user. What does a perfect cylinder have to do with the shape of the human hands or lips? It is merely a simple shape that is easy to make on a lathe, turntable, or in a CAD program."
"NOT JUST DIFFERENT TO BE DIFFERENT. By using a different approach to the design process I developed a revolutionary cup that is unusual and beautiful in appearance and superior in function. The form flows from the shape of hand and mouth, the weight and volume of the contained fluid, and the relations between these. The undulating rim fits the lips better and prevents spills on the side opposite the handle. A level rim would be easy for the factory but would lessen the user’s experience. The design no longer is dictated by the manufacturing process. The oval body brings the center of gravity closer to the hand. The shape helps make the strong porcelain even more resistant to breakage. The shape is attractive and interesting from any angle. The handle and body can be held in several ways, all more comfortable than traditional mugs. The shape breaks free of a nearly universal design constraint of cups, the linear vertical axis, which is dictated by the starting point for most designs being a blank made on a lathe or other such device. By sculpting my prototype from a lump of clay using only the simplest of hand tools, the design no longer is dictated by the design process. Unlike most coffee cups you see in the big coffee shop chains, this isn’t just a gimmicky variation on a tired old shape."
-David Pier