ADI Design Index 2022: coffee break with Edoardo Perri

On the occasion of the selection of our Coffeefrom Cup within the ADI Design Index 2022, we interview Edoardo Perri, Founder & Creative Director of Whomade studio in Milan, as well as Designer and Brand Strategist of Coffeefrom.

How did you get to the design of the Coffeefrom cup?

The idea of the cup was born 3 years ago, when the Coffeefrom project was still at an early stage. Our goal was not only designing a practical and durable object that could best express the potential of the innovative bio-based material, but also finding ways to express the circular and social values that are behind the recycled coffee grounds of Coffeefrom.

The Italian coffee ritual is a multisensory exercise, the expression of a gestural and a collective social act: an experience that, as Italians, is part of our cultural background.

In the Coffeefrom project, coffee wastes become a new material and with this material we wanted to give shape to a coffee cup as a tribute to a story that magically repeats and regenerates: from coffee, for coffee. Working on every single curve and detail, we wanted to draw a cup that would allow you to taste coffee from every point of view and through the interaction of all senses, to best accompany all breaks, sip after sip.

How did you manage to balance aesthetic and functionality with a new bio-based material?

First of all, the production technology of injection molding has allowed us to comply with all the “laws of the perfect cup”, difficult to implement in ceramics but congenial to plastic. The main challenge was the lightness of the object, a typical feature of a bioplastic material. In this case, the weight has been calibrated to allow the gestures we are used to with traditional cups. From here, we worked to develop an object for everyday use, in which shapes dictate the tasting experience.

In the Coffeefrom cup, the internal concavity with an “egg” bottom preserves the coffee cream, while the thickness of the cup is greater on the bottom to keep the heat, and thins going up to the edge so as not to burn the lips. The upper diameter of the cup is calibrated because it slightly enters the nose, which allows you to taste the coffee with the smell without dispersing the heat. We also worked on ergonomics, carefully studying the height of the small circular handle with hole. Also, in the Coffeefrom set even the saucer takes on more than one function: the recess for the cup prevents the base from getting dirty when a drop of coffee falls, while the surface welcomes the spoon without letting it slip, leaving plenty of space for a chocolate. In addition, the saucer serves as a lid to keep the coffee warm and allows you to stack a second cup.

Can you explain the concept behind Coffeefrom brand?

For us at Whomade, the circular economy is a paradigm of sustainability: it is not an abstract philosophy, but a new opportunity for design, which creates innovative raw materials, optimizes processes and produces awareness, from families to businesses. The Coffeefrom brand, starting from its logo, is an international project that combines environmental and social values, and is the spokesperson of an ambitious goal: to change industrial practices in the world of plastics in a logic of symbiosis. Therefore, every element, from the designed objects to the developed packaging offer an added value for new storytelling, and open up further spaces to the infinite expressive possibilities of coffee grounds.