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The company was planning to launch a new coffee brand, Espresso di Manfredi, and engaged Rod to design a suite of contemporary coffee cups to be sold in conjunction with the coffee. It has become common practice for coffee blenders to supply branded coffee cups and saucers to the cafes and restaurants who sell their coffee. Along with Manfredi Enterprises, who contributed the overall vision for the brand, the project involved a graphic designer, the parent coffee company Douwe Egberts, the tableware importer/distributor, and the manufacturer, Royal Thai Porcelain in Bangkok. |
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The project represented an exciting opportunity for Rod because there was a direct link between the project’s aims, and ideas he had developed in his Masters of Design research thesis entitled “A Tactile Orbit”. The thesis had explored the potential for new tableware prototypes arising from the particularly antipodean cross cultural culinary evolution which is characteristic of contemporary Australian food culture. Coffee drinking is now part of that culture and has a strong and visible presence in the Australian urban streetscape. The “Cup Suite” was made up of a cappuccino cup, a latte beaker, an espresso beaker and a saucer. From the outset design/aesthetic considerations needed to be balanced against the functional requirements of the tableware. The original design concepts were centred on the contemporary cafe bar setting. For Rod this setting enveloped the design brief as much as the aesthetic consideration of coffee drinking. The Manfredi identity was also a strong element, as well as the merging of traditional Italian and contemporary Sydney. It was Rod’s aim to give the ware a contemporary feel as well as a timeless quality, and so he drew on the Italian cafe tradition and early Roman pottery forms. Three points of focus emerged as being of primary concern in the design process, according to Rod. These were “functional utility, affordance as a chef’s canvas and contribution to interior design.” From a functional viewpoint the uppermost consideration was that in a busy cafe the crockery has a tough life and needs to function on a number of levels in a compact space. Simple issues became important. Cups needed to be the right height to fit underneath the coffee machine head, stack on top of the machine, and hold a specific volume of liquid. Size and placement of cup handles, the most vulnerable part of a cup’s anatomy, needed to be designed with this environment in mind. The tough chip-resistant glaze and claybody (an alumina hardened porcelain) were developed by the manufacturing company for the purpose. The universal saucer was an important design innovation because it allowed for the different sized cups to sit on a single saucer, doubling as a serving dish and stacking neatly, saving space for the cafe and production costs for the coffee suppliers. Rod comments that “the universal saucer is a unique design which fits all three cups as well as being a beautifully rippled serving plate.It is designed to both frame the cups and steady them while they are being carried, an important consideration in busy cafes” |
Steve Manfredi and Rod Bamford check first run of cups
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Rod communicated the original designs by rendered CAD image and profile drawings to Royal Thai Porcelain. Rod uses CAD as a tool for developing, visualising, and dimensioning ceramic forms. He uses the resulting images to accurately communicate ideas, prepare technical drawings, and create convincing presentations. The designs however were not enough for the company to be convinced of their viability. Rod says, “Those who are still coming to terms with the digital world of design may take heart from my experience that these tools alone are not (yet) enough. In having to convince the manufacturer about the viability of the new shapes I had drawn. I
learned that when it comes to the crunch, those who
make things are most comfortable dealing with the direct
processes they know.” Rod had to prepare a model and simple drop out mould of the cup shape to convince the company that the shape could be successfully produced by the jolleying process. He ended up making both models and moulds for each of the shapes and they were sent to Thailand to be copied. It is doubtful that a designer unfamiliar with model and mould making skills would have been able to convince the factory to proceed into unfamiliar territory. Sally Hunter believes that one of the most difficult issues to resolve in the whole project was the development from drawings to models to first production pieces. She says that the subtlety of the designs was not interpreted into the models by the manufacturer, and the difficulties caused by this threatended the whole project towards the end. Another challenge in the production process was presented by the fact that the pedestal footring for the latte and espresso beakers had to be jolleyed separately and joined together. This was solved by putting a pin on top of the foot which fits into a socket on the base of the beaker. The fit is very tight, each piece is jolleyed and then glazed together. Royal Thai Porclain were skeptical about the process until they tried it out and they found that the results were very successful. Rod found that his persistence and willingness to adapt his ideas to the process were the key to the eventual success of the project. “... I used to think that any compromise was the creative enemy - now I view it as a reflector.... a compromise situation can be used either narrowly as a mirror to look back only at oneself and one’s ideas, or it can be slightly angled to take in a new perspective which can lead to a fresh solution . The latter is more challenging and ultimately the most exciting headspace...” The Cup Suite has been in production since late 1999 and Manfredi plans to extend the range so that they will be used in foodservice generally. According to Sally Hunter, “the cups have given the coffee the modern edge that we had hoped for and the consumer feedback has been positive The cups are beautiful to look at, smooth and sensual to hold, and that can only enhance the experience of coffee drinking......” |
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For Rod the challenge of working as a designer on a project which involved communication and coordination with manufacturers, distributors and the Manfredis was ultimately rewarding. ”.... For me, the outstanding aspect of this whole project was that its success was the result of a coalescence of ideas and experience from all involved in the project. As the saying goes, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts” Rod
Bamford is a NSW based ceramic artist/designer/maker
and partner in Cone Nine Studios - through which design
projects are developed. Website www.tactile.com.au
for more information |
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In
late 1998 Rod Bamford was approached by Sally Hunter,
product manager for Manfredi Enterprises, to work
on a ceramic design project for the company. Sally
was familiar with Rod’s work and believed that
his design sensibility combined with his well established
technical competence would enable him to successfully
carry out the project. 
