Designing a User-Friendly Coffee Cup

Mksana
2 min readJun 28, 2024

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Personalized Coffee Mug

Introduction

Designing a coffee cup might seem simple, but creating one that users love takes careful thought. This essay shares my experience in designing a coffee cup that meets user needs.

Understanding User Needs

First, We needed to know what people want in a coffee cup. some things we discussed about including:

  1. Comfort: The cup should be easy to hold, even when hot.
  2. Capacity: It should hold a good amount of coffee, but not be too big.
  3. Heat Retention: The cup should keep coffee hot for a while.
  4. Ease of Cleaning: It should be easy to wash, by hand or in a dishwasher.
  5. Aesthetics: The cup should look nice and match different styles.

Design Process

With this information, we started designing:

  1. Brainstorming and Sketching: We drew different cup shapes, handles, and materials, aiming for a balance of looks and practicality.
  2. Prototyping: We discussed about prototypes on what materials to use like ceramic, stainless steel, and plastic. Each had unique features, like double walls for heat retention or ergonomic handles for comfort.

Final Design

The final coffee cup design combined the best features. It has:

  • A comfortable handle that’s easy to grip.
  • Double-walled construction to keep coffee hot.
  • A non-slip base to prevent spills.
  • Made from durable, easy-to-clean ceramic.
  • A sleek, modern look that appeals to many users.

Conclusion

Designing a coffee cup with user needs in mind was a great learning experience. It showed me the importance of understanding what users want and the value of testing and improving designs. Even a simple object like a coffee cup can benefit from thoughtful design, making it more enjoyable to use.

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