'T 1' Chinese Tea Set
The T1 tea-set Collection is a re-crafting of Chinese tradition through the development of a new generation of tea-set design, to create a playful tea set. It will be manufactured as a collection, which includes a tureen, fair cup, tasting cups, and a tea tray. The farming culture of ancient China inspired the design. The tea tray is like the land, which can be carrying everything while the tureen and other parts are like the products grown in the ground. The features I incorporate will give the tea-set a modern appearance to meet con- temporary aesthetic values. The primary materials used in the new design were ceramic and glass, which represents traditional materials of Chinese tea wear. The tea tray was fashioned with light-emitting diode elements and made by Corian, which incorporate contemporary design elements.
INSPIRATION
For this design, what I want people to see and feel is more understandable and interpretation of traditional culture, rather than expressing the whole design from the appearance or style. In old Chinese culture each family has a small piece of land on which they cultivate their crops, so they have their own small ‘farm’ with it’s customized products used for the special needs of the family. The idea of designing this tea set comes from this fact. Therefore, when you look at the tea set, you see the cups inserted in glass beads which resemble the ‘land’ and the cups themselves symbolize the plants growing on the land. Thus, the tea set can be customized for each individual or family giving them a feeling of delight and comfort.
RESEARCH & ANALYSIS
Since the Chinese Economic Reform, China's economy has developed rapidly and become one of the most important global markets. The design has entered a new era in China; people not only focus on the function when they purchase goods, but also pay more attention to how design engage them. However, many products associated with traditional culture have not been given sufficient attention. Also, the Chinese younger generation becomes the main customer group in China, and they adopted more western ideas and aesthetics sense. The consumption ability and aesthetic expectations of the younger generation are at a high standard, they hope that there will be more products in the market which have unique design and satisfy their aesthetic needs. However, the tea ware product in the market cannot meet the needs of contemporary consumption.
NEW COLLECTION
T1 tea-set Collection simplifies the traditional collection and unnecessary design and reconsiders the essential design elements: tureen, fair cup, and tasting cups. In addition, the unique designs of the rinse bag for the glass beads and water suction tool for tea tray was add to facilitate user cleaning and maintenance. At the same time, because the material is composed of ceramics and Corian, users can have more colour options, and can choose the colour of LED light to meet their personalized needs.
NEW STYLE OF TEA DRINKING
T1 tea-set Collection has tactile controlled LED lights to create a more modern tea drink environment for user experience. Moreover, it solves the pain points of previous Tea set designs: the old-fashioned look, which includes too many unnecessary tools, inconvenient placement, drainage problems of tea tray and so on. T1 tea-set Collection brings a brand new tea drinking experience, from a sense of touching, using and vision.
NEW TEA EXPERIENCE
1 .Put the tea leaves into the tureen.
2.Pour the hot water.
3.Control the Lip with finger to pour the tea to fair cup.
4.Divide the tea into taste cups
5.Enjoy the tea.
