The office cup

One of my colleagues has bought a new mug that has a spoon that slots into the handle. I thought the mug was a bad design, but she and everyone else in the office loves it (they are all ladies who are not from a product design background).  So numerous discussions have been had; I have tried to convince them why this is a bad design and they have defended it, not surprisingly, Product Tank has been outdone by lady logic.

1. The handle could be weaker than a standard design.

Response: I'm not swinging it around the room, it will be fine and if not, I can just buy another one.

2. The spoon when used and returned to the handle will drip liquid down the handle and over your hands.

Response: Just lick the spoon or preferably, wash and dry it.

3. When you drain the cup, by tipping it back, the spoon will fall out.

Response: This hasn't happened so far.

4. The inside of the cup is black, so you can't guage the strength of the tea you are brewing.

Response: She's using coffee sachets which are already pre-measured, or if you are making tea, you could just put the milk in first. (I did argue that putting the milk in first will reduce the temperature of water, which will effect the quality of the brew when putting a bag in the cup)

The killer blow was the argument that spoons go missing in the office, so having a unique spoon that you can keep with the cup is a really good idea. Shows what I know!

If I was designing another mug, I would have dismissed this idea very early on.  Its a useful reminder about how important it is to know and understand the needs of your customers prior to commencing a project.  It's also a reminder that no matter how bad something is, if someone loves it, they will not see or will adjust to cope with its faults (or they just like an argument!).  When making tea for my colleagues the other day, I used this spoon to stir the coffee, then placed it back into the handle and on picking up the mug, scolded myself on the spoon.  Ladies 2 product tank 0.

mugged

All the mugs I own are of different shapes and sizes and I've been musing about ways to make them more easy to carry, without using a tray, so I've been looking at designing one with a non slip rubberised area, that stops the other two from slipping and spilling, or designing mugs with ribs, that lock together when picked up, to make it easier to carry 3/4 cups to a table without a tray.