24 Hour Inclusive Design Challenge at the European Business Conference 2010, Oslo, Norway, 20-21 May 2010, organised by the Norwegian Design Council
Team Jukebox
Team leader: Marianne Støren Berg, KODE Design
Design partner: Ola Refsnes
The issue
Ola is an entrepreneur with a shop and café soon to open. He loves to socialise with friends and uses a powered wheelchair. He has an assistant to help with tasks that require physical strength.
‘What I miss when I'm home alone is to drink coffee - particularly drinking from a cup', he says. Ola wants to have an authentic feel-good experience with the comfort of holding the cup close to his mouth, smelling the aroma and drinking from the cup instead of a straw. But he finds a cup difficult to use and is concerned about spilling the hot coffee. The keyboard on his MacBook is one casualty of a spill and is no longer fully functioning.
The team recognised Ola's needs when looking at his daily routine. Drinking coffee is central to our everyday pleasures, at home and at work. Each team member had a similar story - spilling drinks on our laptops, on the bus or when travelling on the passenger sitting next to us and of grandparents hands trembling when holding a cup.
The design solution
The team wanted Ola to be able to drink his cup of coffee without worrying about spilling it. Cupola is a cup designed with a handle that opens and shuts the lid automatically by gravity and a spring action.
The solution creates a better drinking experience for all. Cupola can be made of different materials for different situations, such as disposable cups used in planes and for take-aways or in unbreakable, microwaveable glass.
Because Cupola's purpose is to provide better grip and prevent spills, it is safe for everyone including children, people with visual impairments and elderly people.
