If there is one thing the Internet has taught us, it’s that you can improve anything by putting a cat to it. Are you having a bad day at work? Watch cat videos or browse through endless cat-related memes. Do you have a tummy ache? A familiar pet may provide comfort, but purring is not a treatment for abdominal pain. Are you feeling grumpy for no reason at all? Watch your kitty chase a plush mouse all around the house and feel yourself instantly filled with joy. Well, there is one thing they excel at: sleeping. Having this in mind, one design company created a simple but genius tool to turn your life into a real feline paradise.
The company calls the cat sculpture mold ‘Neko Cup’ (Neko is Japanese for cat) and it’s a cat-shaped structure made from bamboo and scallop shell biomass plastic.
Yuka Morii, the artist behind this amazing idea admitted she came up with this charming design by merely spotting cats sleepily rolling around the sidewalk and wanted to capture the spirit they embody with that relaxed, trusting, and somewhat hopeful behavior.
More info: Ash Koncent (h/t: designyoutrust)
One outline can work in different materials
The same recognizable ears and body shape connect the examples, while the texture changes with what fills the mold. That makes the object a small exercise in form rather than a complicated character sculpture. Food contact and other uses should follow the specific product's materials and instructions, not just a photograph.
The mould simplifies the pose to a recognizable outline
Neko Cup turns a resting cat into a shape that can be repeated in another material. The ears and curved back do much of the work, while surface texture changes with the medium. That makes it a compact example of designing for recognition: a form can suggest an animal without reproducing every feature. The gallery shows the idea, while the manufacturer’s instructions determine which uses suit the actual product.
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About the Neko Cup
Neko Cup was designed by Yuka Morii for the Japanese design brand h-concept. Pressed into beach sand, a park sandbox or winter snow, the hollow mould leaves the silhouette of a napping cat, and when it is not in use it doubles as a small sculpture. It is made of biomass plastic from bamboo and scallop shells and came in white, beige and black. In July 2019 it retailed in Japan for 2,916 yen through h-concept’s online shop.
Sources: Spoon & Tamago, 13 July 2019: Neko Cup creates adorable napping cat sand sculptures
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