On hot summer evenings in the 1950’s, my family would have a backyard picnic. The setting: a wooden table, an oilcloth tablecloth, and metal glasses in purple, red, gold, green, silver, and blue hues.  I always chose red or purple for my lemonade. Lemonade always tasted better in these iconic metal glasses, especially the red ones. 

Now, there is more than lemonade to savor in exquisite drinkware by  product designer Michelle Leung of Il Ceramic. She has studied the association people unconsciously make between flavors, colors, and textures and crafted fine china as a synesthetic compliment to popular cocktails.

For the non-synesthetes out there, the term implies a melding of the senses, such that a given texture might simultaneously evoke a certain taste. In the show, for example, the Bloody Mary has its own highball cup, replete with prickly red glass drops to evoke the spice of tabasco and the tang of tomato.

Likewise, the mellow sweetness of a Brandy Alexander can be served in Leung’s rounded glass cup, coddled in soft yellow molded to fit the hand of the drinker and to provide a relaxing visual, tactile, and taste experience.

“Michelle’s work aims to evoke cross-sensory experiences, where the colour, form, and texture of the ceramic pieces evoke the taste, flavour, and mouthfeel of the dishes they contain. Grounded in research, interviews, and material experimentation, her designs are driven by the expressive potential of the ceramic medium.” Imagine the waiter approaching your table with a tray of art, serving each drink as though it is a unique collectible that not only satisfies, but also expands, your senses.

See II Ceramic to find out more.