for the love of design!: Mugged

Like the objects in the first couple of minutes of the film in Objectified that are handled by many people during their morning routines, mugs fit the same category of mass-produced objects of industrial design. Mugs are an essential part of the daily lives of many people; it holds their drinks and food even (I put eat my cereal in them!) at the very least, and others find other creative ways of using them.

The typical mug.

The archetypal form of a mug can be described as a white porcelain cup with a handle. Even as a mug, it still derives itself from a cup. It has a circular bottom thus taking a cylindrical shape. Its lines are not sharp, but not exactly curved. Its edges are tapered just enough so that it's still comfortable for holding in your hands and for putting your lips on. In contrast to its cylindrical shape and also a salient characteristic that differentiates it from any regular cup, it has a handle juts out to an oval shape. There is still continuity in the circles between the handle and the base. Its simple and prime function is to hold hot beverages. Surprisingly, it is not a object that is looked over. More than likely, you will see decorated mugs more than plain ones, but they all have the same general shape.

Moustache mugs by Peter Ibruegger

Decorated mugs are a big part of our culture. It's one way society self expresses itself most evidently. It has so much blank space on its surface that we are compelled to personalize it to our liking with many different graphics. Some more ambitious and creative people like to alter it a bit more by creating new handles: