PRODUCT DESIGN - ICHIGO ICHIE TEA SERVICE

This article presents the design of a tea service Ichigo Ichie. The project is based on a practical experience carried out at the company Amorim Cork Composites S.A. (ACC S.A), whose main intention was to develop cork products to be presented in the Portuguese pavilion at the Aichi Universal Exhibition. The work carried out supports the idea that the development of a new product is a natural consequence of a design process whose implementation enables the development of feasible solutions and clear understanding of how the object accomplishes its various functions. Describes the applicability of a design methodology, and a collaborative work with a Portuguese company from the productive sector in order to contribute, to the creation and affirmation of its own identity. Aiming to implement a culture and a thought regarding the use of design, using them as innovation tools. Positioning design as an operative and differential instrument in order to increase the profile of cork and explore its physical and sensorial characteristics through the production of innovative products with sustainable uses, affirming the decisive role of Portugal in this sector and the notoriety of ACC, SA in the collaboration between design professionals and the company. The description of the work carried out begins with a brief context on the Universal Exhibitions, the highlight that cork has had through the participation of Portugal and the concept of the Portuguese Pavilion at the Aichi Universal Exhibition and steps and procedures of the evolution of the project.