gamecup by scott sykora from usa

One of the most basic and universal elements of a house party is the cup. At American college parties the cup of choice is almost always the plastic, disposable, red cup. It has become an icon. For this design project I decided to take that simple element and let it play a central role in the party.

At its most fundamental, a party is about being with friends and meeting new ones, and one of the easiest ways to do this is through games. In this design I have paired a timeless game set, the deck of cards, with the simple, disposable cup. The disposable cups are sold in packs of fifty-two and at the inside bottom of each the suite and value of a different playing card is displayed. This creates and open-ended system which the party-goers can use to create games. They can use the cups along with deck standard cards to play traditional games, create completely new games, or use each value in each cup as a way to identify players for whatever purpose they dream up. The only limit is their imagination. Here are a few uses of the cups as examples:

• Poker: The cups could be used, along with a standard deck of cards, in a poker game. Each player would have a hand of four cards along with the cup their drink is in. Depending on the beverage (beer with some foam would work) the card they’re holding in the cup wouldn’t be revealed until the drink is finished. Each person’s cup-card would be revealed at different times bringing a new element of surprise to the game.
• Hands: After getting their cups at random, the party-goers would be asked to team up to create hands of cards (standard poker hands would work). The team with the best hand would win. This game would force people in a large party to meet at random in smaller groups and gives them a starting point for conversations. At the end of the game hopefully most people will be with people they’ve never met before and created some new friendships. This game would work best if played at a very relaxed pace, giving the people a half-hour or so to mingle and make alliances so everyone has time to enjoy the party and have conversations about things other than what their cup-card is.
• Rules: Each suite or value of cards can be assigned rules, either concocted beforehand or made up by the partygoers at the party. Examples: the king and queen of hearts must kiss. All clubs must tell a funny story about their first relationships. All sixes must buy a seven a drink.

In addition to each of these examples, there could be many other games I can’t even imagine. The style and pace of the game could be adjusted to the type of the party. They could be used for games based on simple fun, games forcing people to meet and mingle, or games involving drinking; it all depends on what the people using them want.

As another tweak to the simple, red-cup design, I’ve added a text bubble to the outside. This gives people a standard space to label or express themselves through their cups. By putting a unique mark in this area with a felt-tipped pen, each person could identify his or her cup, which would lead to less wastage and discarding of cups. Also more creative party-goers could use this space as a template for drawings, messages, or jokes. The text bubble also differentiates the cup from others while sticking to a clean, simple look.

This product really captures the essence of a party. A party isn’t about fancy furniture, modern-looking appliances or high-tech entertainment. A party is about fun and people, and games are the perfect way to bring those two together. The product also cuts through flashy aesthetics and demonstrates what I feel design is really about: adding value to an object.