What disposable coffee lids tell us about the complexity of ‘everyday’ design

Architect Louise Harpman believes that her collection of disposable coffee lids is the world’s largest. And given that it’s co-owned by one of the few people as enthusiastic about coffee lids as she is, the claim seems entirely reasonable.

Having begun their collections independently, Harpman and fellow architect Scott Specht discovered their mutual interest as graduate students at Yale in the 1990s. Between them, they’ve amassed more than 500 different lids (“or, more precisely,” as the pair’s new book clarifies, “unique, patented, drink-through, disposable hot-beverage lids”).

Harpman admits that being a collector is a “disease with no known cure,” though her affliction is much more than a curious pastime. The architect and professor wants her lids to tell a story of contemporary industrial design. 

A coffee lid with molded grooves around the edges to catch spilled liquid.

A book titled "Coffee Lids" categorizes the lids in chapters, according to the way they're used by drinkers: pinch, pucker, puncture and, as seen here, peel.

One of the most unusual lids in the book is a South Korean design featuring a protruding nose and lips that drinkers effectively kiss upon taking a sip.

A McDonald's coffee lid featuring Braille markings and a prominent safety warning.

While many of today's disposable coffees come with raised lids to accommodate frothy drinks like lattes and cappuccinos, earlier designs were often flat with a peel-away tab.

In this design, the aperture is revealed by pulling away the tap and locking it onto the opposite side of the rim.

A prototype lid featuring an in-built "aroma pod" that can be filled with coffee granules (or other scents), offering drinkers a further sensory blast. 

One of the earliest examples in the book, this lid is designed without an aperture. Instead, the tab at the bottom must be torn to create an opening.

Designs listed in the chapter "Pucker" -- where users drink through an aperture in the lid, not the cup -- appear to have prevailed in recent years.

A common design feature is convex dimples that can be pressed by baristas to denote cream, milk or other preferences.

"Coffee Lids," published by Princeton Architectural Press, is available now.

Design secrets of the humble coffee lid

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“There’s so much design intelligence behind these humble objects,” she said during a phone interview. “I use the lids in my teaching. There’s everyday wonder and beauty in these objects, and I think it’s important for people to see things in a fresh way. 

“Every time I start one of my design classes I talk about the arrow hidden in the FedEx logo – at least half the class hasn’t seen it. So then you start to wonder what else they’re missing.”

Harpman and Specht’s book, “Coffee Lids,” puts the pair’s collection into context through essays, patent diagrams and photographs that – when viewed in quick succession – reveal the subtle differences in design.