Details:

• Project type:
Self-Directed Product Design and making

• Focus:
Material honesty, value, coffee ritual

• Skills:
Sketching, model making, woodwork, metalwork, ceramics, fabrication

• Tools:
Wood lathe, ceramics workshop, metal workshop

• Outcome:
Series of experimental coffee mugs exploring material and process

6oz

A material exploration, exploring how process, labour, and material behaviour shape the perceived value and longevity of everyday objects.

Overview

6oz is a self-directed material exploration investigating how process, labour, and material behaviour influence the perceived value and longevity of everyday objects.

Using the 6oz coffee cup as a constant, the project explores the tension between disposability and permanence through the ritual of drinking coffee. Inspiration was drawn from the material honesty of Marc Newson and Max Lamb, alongside the cultural significance of Dalit cups.

Initial sketches simplified familiar cup forms to emphasise material expression. These were developed through lathe-turned plaster moulds and iterative prototyping. During development, mugs were produced across metal, wood, and ceramics workshops, exploring how form, process, and material shape our emotional relationship with everyday objects.