Heller Max 2 [back view]

Brochure for Heller Max 2 cups and saucers, both cups/saucers and brochure designed by Massimo Vignelli.

Text: "Massimo Vignelli has continued with his innovative designs with the addtion of the Max 2 series of cups and saucers. The cups can be stacked individually or stacked by alternating one cup and saucer on top of the other. The bottom of each saucer becomes a top for a cup. The capacity of each cup is 8 fluid ounces. The set is exceedingly durable and dishwasher proof."

Featured items: 300 Set of 6 Cups and saucers. Colors: white, yellow, and orange.

Text from design: Vignelli exhibition label:
Heller Stacking Cups, New York 1970.
The cups are stackable, and the handles, conceived as a projection of the cup’s walls, have a “hole” at the top generated by their form. As it happens, people in the United States tend to fill their coffee cups to the rim; consequently, the coffee would flow out of the cup onto the handle, then the flat saucer, and finally the table-what a shame! Of course, this mess could be avoided if one filled the cup to a more elegant level below the handle “hole.” That, however, was asking too much of the consumer, so the “hole” was filled. This was okay, but somehow it was like pulling the wings off of a butterfly: all you have left is a bug. Collections: Museum of Modern Art, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.