SKETCH PAD Jura’s latest offers up the perfect cup of joe.
BY RACHEL Z. ARNDT
PHOTOGRAPHS BY DAN SAELINGER
Coffee Mate
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Desktop Design
UPGRADE
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Half-caf, whole-milk, extra-foam
cappuccino? No problem. Just
push a button and your order is
ready with the Jura Impressa
J9 One Touch TFT, an espresso
maker as powerful as those
helping baristas crank out
lattes, yet as easy to use as that
ho-hum percolator you’re used
to. The machine—which won a
2011 Red Dot Design Award—
grinds, brews, self-cleans, and
can whip up a frothy latte mac-chiato in less than a minute.
“We imagined a female form,
athletic and calm, giving an impression of intelligence and
lightheartedness,” says Jura
general manager Emanuel
Probst. The sleek aesthetic is
backed up by 15 bars of pressure, lending the machine more
than enough strength to hit the
9-bar level required to give
espresso the crema it’s known
for. ($2,800, surlatable.com)
[ 1] Symmetry is the guiding force
in the J9’s design. “Symmetrical
shapes are perceived quickly and
easily,” Probst says. The machine’s
balance ensures that, no matter
the angle, the look of the device is
consistent—important as the
kitchen has gone from “a workroom to a communication space.”
[ 2] Separate liquid systems
brew coffee and steam milk. Jura
shifted the frother from the left
side to the right to make sure the
innards—a grinder space for
beans—would fit.
[ 3] “It’s very challenging to
produce highly precise, perfect
plane surfaces without seeing
any reinforcement material,”
Probst says. But Jura succeeded
by using high-quality plastics and
aluminum, which make the
machine feel like bone china.
[ 4] The J9 is Jura’s first
home-use product with a
color display. Save your drink
preferences—temperature,
strength, and size—and enter
your order via a dial and a simple
push of a button. To maximize
ease, Jura created the interface
with specialists who design
navigation systems for cars.
Like the drab walls of your cubicle,
office supplies are unsatisfying,
unexciting—and a necessity of
the modern workplace. Convinced
that desktop fare can be functional
and intuitive without sacrificing
flair, the designers at Poppin
crafted a streamlined collection
of utensils and paper products in
a 16-color palette. Poppin’s Little
Black Desk Set bundles a striking
array of essentials, such as wood
pencils and a hefty, high-gloss
ruler with transparent markings
that gives “insight into the page
below,” says Jeff Miller, Poppin’s
design head. A stylish and stack-
able white desk set holds unruly
sticky notes and paper clips. “We
love simple, useful products,” says
Miller, whose personal stash in-
cludes the Medium Softcover
notebook and Fineliner pens.
“Each helps to communicate and
connect efficiently.” ($50, poppin
.com) —CHRISTINA CHAEY
RENDERINGS:COURTESYOFJURA
