December 26, 2020

Stefan Sagmeister Delivers a Cheerful Message for Illy Art Collection Cup Design

Stefan Sagmeister’s Now = Better coffee cup and saucer for the illy Art Collection is available singly or in sets of two or four, and in espresso or cappuccino sizes. Photography courtesy of illy Art Collection.

Rise and shine! That’s the message New York–based graphic designer Stefan
Sagmeister delivers—literally and metaphorically—with Now = Better, a coffee cup and saucer he’s created for the illy Art Collection, an ongoing project in which such previous artists as Marina Abramovic and Olimpia Zagnoli have given the everyday object—originally designed in 1990 by
Interior Design Hall of Fame member
Matteo Thun—an aesthetic makeover. The opposite of a doom merchant, Sagmeister argues that the pandemic and other current crises make us doubt that human life continues to improve—that we forget our advancements on the past and by doing so hobble our progress in the future. The designer’s long-term optimism finds expression in the mirrored titanium surface of each cup, which reflect the saucer’s bold and colorful graphics as upward curves of rising achievement. Ready for your double shot of positivity?

The mirror titanium finish. Photography courtesy of illy Art Collection.
One of the four patterns. Photography courtesy of illy Art Collection.

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