Interview about Splashy Cup and Saucer Sets, winner of the A' Bakeware, Tableware, Drinkware and Cookware Design Award 2023
The inspiration came from the blending process of coffee and milk. The project intends to capture the beauty of fluid by simulating movements of liquid flows. The collision of liquids on the surface creates irregular crown splashes and melts into ripples. These random abstract shapes add interesting features to the tableware and make the food more attractive. The solid structures allow the saucers to hold more food as well. Porcelain material provides minimalist aesthetics. Smooth and clean appearance delivers a psychological feeling of hygienic, which can improve appetite to some extent.
View detailed images, specifications, and award details on A' Design Award & Competition website.
View Design DetailsThe inspiration for this set of works came from the collision of coffee and milk. When milk is added to coffee, the splash of water on the surface of the coffee and the process of the two liquids merging together create a dynamic and balanced beauty. Normally, cups are used to hold liquids, but I had the intention to reverse them and use "liquid" to carry the cups. In this way, the overall shape of the products may show a strong visual sense of exaggeration, thus catching people's attention. With the help of 3D modeling software, I managed to simulate the dynamics of the liquids, and captured the instantaneous shape of the splashes to serve as the overall shapes of the product.
The coffee and milk with distinct colors and textures, from the fierce collision to the eventual fusion into a fragrant milk coffee, reminded me of the collision and fusion of some cultural and ideological elements in life. What I aim to express is that sometimes apparently disparate ideas and cultures can also give rise to splendid new entities through communication and accommodation. Cultural collisions are not necessarily offensive.
Due to the high randomness of the dynamics of liquids, numerous simulations are needed to obtain optimal shapes for the products. Additionally, considering the final production and application scenarios, the shape of the product should not be overly abstract. It is necessary to guarantee the functionality of the product while making the liquid shape more vivid and natural. Adjustments to the details of the structure and size are also indispensable. To ensure the feasibility of the products, I used 3D printing to create physical mock ups after each major adjustments until I was satisfied with the outcomes.
Less is more. Using stiff porcelain materials to express the fluidity of liquid itself already contains a strong visual effect. Those intriguing shapes can enliven a dull tabletop. As "tableware" products, I think smooth surfaces and minimalist color scheme can bring a sense of cleanliness and tidiness. In addition, simple colors may also accentuate the rich hues of food and boost people’s appetite. The main goal is to employ the minimum number of design elements to accentuate the richest satisfaction for the users.
By employing 3D software, I was able of adjusting the volume of the liquid, the height of its fall, the angle of impact, and the speed of the flow. Through repeated simulations and adjustments, I could find appropriate ranges for the data and then modified the details. There was no particular trick, just keep trying until the desired outcome is achieved.
A typical saucer is usually flat and is merely used as a saucer plate for cups or for holding solid food. Nevertheless, the splash-shaped design of the liquid spray elevates the height of the saucer, enabling it to hold more food and even liquids. If the user wants. it may even be utilized as a bowl. Apart from being capable of holding more food and even liquids, the splash shape also presents a visual effect of soaking food in the liquid, endowing the solid tableware with certain dynamic effects. All I did was merely increase the height of the plate by taking advantage of the shape and structure of the water splashes.
The overall size of the product is based on general dimensions of common tableware in the market. The scale of its main functional parts, such as the size of the cup, are closer to the dimension of regular coffee cups, so that they can be compatible with most coffee machines, dish washers, and other common daily household instruments. For the saucer, its water splash shape in the center need to match the size of the cup to be able to hold them. In addition to those major functional parts, the rest are mostly decorative parts which are designed with more flexibility in scale and dimension. For example, the bottom of the saucer is designed slightly larger in proportion to show the water ripple details on the surface of the plate.
Porcelain is one of the most prevalent materials used for making tableware products, and China has long been renowned for its porcelain production. Therefore, using porcelain as the major material has significant advantages in terms of material acquisition and product manufacturing techniques. As I mentioned previously, the smooth and clean surface of porcelain, in combination with simple color schemes, makes the dining environment look tidier and more organized. Furthermore, the reflection and refraction of light by porcelain may enhance the texture of food, stimulating people's appetite. These properties of porcelain may provide users with better dining experience to some extent.
Traditional tableware in the market was mainly focused on functional practicality, with little variation in shape and design. However, in recent years, some new and innovative tableware has entered the market and has gained popularity among some consumers especially those young generations. This trend shows that consumers now not only value usability, but also have increased their demand for design and aesthetics. I hope this design can inspire more creative tableware design that may satisfy people's practical needs while also providing more emotional value to daily life.
I believe that the “decorative function” is also an important part of "practical function" for the products, as it can bring people psychological satisfaction and pleasure other than fulfilling basic functional needs. I wish to design tableware that is both functionally usable and aesthetically attractive, and thereby transforming dining into an interesting experience rather than just a monotonous daily routine. In order to maximize the versatility of this set of tableware, I decided to separate its "practical function" from its "decorative function". When people don't need to use its "practical function", for instance serving coffee or tea, its "decorative function" can come into play, using its creative and interesting feature as a decorative piece on the table or in the cabinet. In this way, whether people are actually using this tableware or not, they will not be completely useless as idle items.
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