For Christmas, I got a heat-preserving coffee cup from Bodum from my father. This is a Danish design tableware and kitchenware company which is very popular in Scandinavia, but also across the world. It was designed in plastic and aluminum. The plastic was black, and the metal parts were coated in a shiny copper color. It looks very good and has a great aesthetic design. Also, it has a perfect shape and can hold 0,4l of coffee. This means that it is a perfect size for me and easy to carry around. I was very happy with it and I looked forward to start using it for drinking and keeping my coffee hot at school in January. After using it and washing it in the dishwasher three or four times, bits of the brass coating started to peel off from the top of the cup. In addition, the cap that keeps the coffee inside started to come loose and comes loose whenever I try to open it.
For this cup, I want to highlight quality, usability and the aesthetics. I value these factors equally. It is important to me that the cup looks good, but also that it works well and lasts for at least a couple of years. I find the design very appealing and good looking. The colors are a good match. The cap is easy to take on and off. I appreciate that my father bought it for me, this is a could I could have purchased myself. Spot on. Good design.
When it comes to quality and usability; not so good. The usability is bad because of the cup’s bad quality. It can’t be right that a metal cup starts falling apart after a week’s use. A cup like this should be robust, it should last for years. This is also important considering environmental issues and sustainability. The production of these cups is not too good for the environment but throwing them away is even worse. Therefore, I want to say that this is bad design. The fact that it falls apart also makes it lose its’ points for good aesthetics, because the design is literally falling off.
“Brands are realizing the importance
of the product experience beyond the purchase. The LG Prada phone is an example
of what can go wrong if they don’t. Both the branding and the product design
people did a great job. It attracted lots of people. It was a beautiful object
and launch advertising and in-store displays were stunning. The phone came in
beautiful packaging, almost like a watch. But the usage part of the experience
was a disaster, the interface was barely usable and lots of customers returned
their phones.”[1] Hestad’s
point in this chapter is that the product experience has to be consistent
throughout the whole process – from purchase to disposal of the product. Bodum
has not succeeded in this with this cup.
[1] McCullagh, Kevin in Branding and product design; an integrated perspective, Hestad, M., 2013, Gower
Making sense of art and design industries 