Thursday February 22, 2007 | 6 comments
Don Norman, one of design’s most influential theorists, used three teapots to represent the distinction between visceral, behavioral, and reflective design. There’s something inspiring about an object designed for such a specific, simple purpose. Any vessel that pours in a tight stream, insulates the user’s hand from heat, and filters leaves qualifies as a teapot, which might be why there’s so much diversity in their design. Like chairs and lamps, the teapot is a chance for 
industrial designers to articulate their DNA. These are some that have inspired my own design work:
Dresser is one of the first designers to work directly with mass production. I don’t think any designer has been able to negotiate the tension between ornamentation and simplicity so well since. The thin dark wood handle, visibly bolted to the metal, is my favorite part of this teapot, which still looks fresh more than 100 years after it was designed.
The Mingei movement in Japan gained momentum a decade after Dresser and existed in reaction to the onset of mass-production. Shoji Hamada, a prolific Mingei ceramicist, made this piece. My first impressions of these products was that they are rustic, functional, unpretentious; minimalism striped of its shininess, as if pure, strong-lined objects were washed, perhaps left for too long in the dryer, and folded over the course of many years so that the edges begin to fray and their whiteness turns more earthy.
Molo design is Stephanie Forsythe and Todd MacAllen, and their Tea Lantern is the most functional teapot I’ve encountered. It looks like a precise piece of lab equipment and uses a vacuum chamber to keep tea hot and cold liquids cold, just like a thermos. Float really is a teapot drilled down to its functional requirements, and is visually the opposite of Hamada’s pot.
This moka pot by Richard Sapper isn’t for tea, but its too good a design to not mention. Sapper replaced the traditional moka’s clunky shape and threaded closure with a restrained stacked-cylinder construction and elegant snap-shut closure. The tiny spout that manages not to drip is one of my favorite parts- if only he designed for tea.
I enjoy reading your article very much…it’s very insightful and it reminds me of how timeless a well-designed object can be. Gotta love that Dresser’s teapot!
Probably like most others, I loved tea first before I loved teapots. I am more into Yixing pots and gaiwan collecting (just started and still have a lot to learn). I am always amazed at how a clay teapot in the classical oriental design can blend so well among antiques as well as 21st century gizmos. Next to a flat panel LCD TV, a Yixing teapot manages to appear timeless and even complimentary (at least to me). Amazing! Thank you for your article.
I have to agree with you Phyll. Some of the most elegant elements of design are also often the simplest. Although there are many elaborately designed Yixing pots that are wonderful, the smoothness and curvature and simplicity of the lines of the classic Yixing pot is very grounding and soothing. A perfect fit for taking the time to be in the moment and center yourself with a wonderful cup of tea steeped in a classically designed pot.
I also very much enjoyed your article Joey. I think it’s important for people to realize that the experience of an exceptional cup of tea is not JUST about the tea. It involves all the elements with which you surround yourself. Taking time to enjoy the beauty of a well designed pot, whether mass produced or individually handcrafted, as well as the water, your immediate environment, who you are with etc. all contribute significantly to the pleasure of a cup of tea. There is an old recommendation by the Chinese, that I can only paraphrase, that when you drink tea it should optimally be consumed by a pristine mountain stream (hard to find these days), using the fresh spring water with which to brew your tea and in the company of good friends.
Can you possibly post an image of the (Christopher?) Dresser teapot you were referring to? I’m not sure if its in the small black/white image. And for those who might get them confused, I Googled to discover that the Sapper Moka Pot is the top image of the three posted. Thanks for your bringing these elegant designs to our attention!
Thanks for the clarification Eric. I have contacted Joey to try and get an image of the Dresser pot. When I do, I will change them around.
Phyll, I definitely know what you mean regarding the Yixing pot complementing modern electronics so well. I can picture the pleasing duality between the round, unglazed matte surface of the teapot and the precise lines of your LCD. The concept of framing technology within familiar patterns of use and familiar natural materials is dear to me, and I hope to promote it through my design work.
Sandy, you make a great point about the entire environment being important to the enjoyment of tea. I’ve found that like colors on a painting that are perceived differently according to surrounding colors, the meaning of every object in a space interacts, influencing your experience with any one object. Also, thank you (and Eric) for alerting me to the image problem and fixing it so quickly. I look forward to more great discussions on TChing.
Wow. That Dresher teapot is astonishing especially considering it was designed around 1880. Christopher Dresher had quite a diverse career as a designer. I was more familiar with his 2D work with wallpapers/fabrics with wildly decorative patterns. It’s intriguing to find one man who obviously took joy in sleek but playful industrial forms while simultaneously championing florid ornament. Yin and Yang !?