Alkuperää kunnioittaen - Teapot
In-house product design for Arabia / Fiskars Home
The brief for the Alkuperää kunnioittaen - teapot was to make a design resonating with Teema series designed by Kaj Franck. Fiskars wanted a teapot that could also hold a large area of decoration for patterns. In the design process I went through and tested a lot of old examples of teapots from Arabia’s history and gathered the most usable solutions to support my work: best pouring spouts and others.
The technical specifications for the product were quite strict but I made them work: I went through many different designs before coming up with the shape. I looked at the original forms and lines of Teema and other similar products and made the my work speak the same language. I designed an exceptional lid, that maximizes the area that can be decorated. My design keeps the lines of the teapot clean and simple but hint towards a retro coffee pot look while still acknowledging Franck’s iconic simplicity.
I realized to design the teapot to fit a strainer sieve that was already in use in Fiskars’ other brands teapots to maximize efficiency in the production. The teapot was designed to have a lower volume to cater for Asian markets and to work well as a collectible. The biggest usability issues faced were getting the pot to pour just right and controlling the condensation and heating of the pot. My colleagues finished the development of the teapot as I started my MA studies.
My inhouse work at Fiskars was always anonymous. You can find the product specifications about the teapot here. And reviews from the users of the product here (in Finnish), Overall the product has received very positive reviews: grade 4,7/5.
“Hiring you has been one of the best decisions I’ve made as a boss.”
“Having already tested several ceramic teapots, this will take the win. The swivel lid and the size of the jug make the jug the best in its properties, and the shape of the jug is ideal for keeping the tea hot for a long time. The illustration of the jug is beautiful, and the troll on the cover is charming. The jug is also easy to keep clean compared to other ceramic teapots. I highly recommend!”
Reflection
My background is in product development and design of industrial ceramics starting from my BA studies. Many people work in industries where their work can be wiped out if electronics fail, ceramics is not like that. It is one of the oldest signs of developed civilizations and that is because ceramics are, compared to human lifespan, eternal. My designs and my ideas, can live on, to a terrifying and utterly disorienting degree. Ceramics last a nuclear holocaust or a 4 degrees warmer Earth. Imagine aliens digging up a teapot and interpreting Moomins as some sacred beings in human society. To think about these things and still be a designer in the field, understandably is both hard and interesting. This lead me to study sustainability and focus more on services that improve human life, be they public or private.