craighton berman – DesignApplause

craighton berman presents manual no4 5th anniversary launch.

Oct 29, 2019

chicago designer craighton berman‘s coffeemaker nº4 is a pour over brewer that celebrates the ritual of slow coffee. designed to be a serious pour-over brewer as well as a beautiful countertop object, nº4 heightens the manual brewing experience.

originally launched on kickstarter 5 years ago (and boosted by uncrate), nº4 is the latest iteration of his signature coffeemaker. since this was the product that originally launched manual, he decided to create an anniversary edition to celebrate. the defining design gesture of the manual coffeemaker has always been the hand-crafted sculptural glass dome, so for this edition he created a new ceramic base—available in three colors. for the anniversary edition of Nº4, we are offering plates in matte black, matte white, and stoneware.

“i know in 2019 that a kickstarter campaign comes with some baggage—will it deliver? will it be any good? i have launched all manual products this way—this is actually my 12th kickstarter campaign—and i always deliver what i promise! coffeemaker n°4 is live as of monday, and is available at an early backer price of $80. after one week the price will move to $100, with a final retail cost of around $125.”

[ vitals ]
> you can make as little coffee as a 8oz cup (240 ml) or as much as 20oz (800 ml)—enough to share
> the coffeemaker does not use plastics (only glass and ceramic)
> packaging is 100% compostable (no foams to protect glass, only molded pulped paper)
> brewing process is 100% electricity-free—if water is heated on a gas stove
> low-waste in brewing, as the filter and grinds can be composted vs coffee pods, which are rarely recycled

the coffeemaker nº4 kickstarter campaign is live until 15 november 2019. please feel free to contact craighton if you have any questions.

[ kickstarter – deadline 15 nov 2019 ] @m_a_n_u_a_l/

chicago kickstarter project jam #2.

Jun 7, 2018

this project jam is the second in a series of four workshops on taking product ideas from concept to reality. the workshop—led by chicago designer and educator craighton berman of manual—will have a special focus on using kickstarter for launching designed objects, but is open to other creative projects as well.

this project jam will be most useful for people who already have creative projects that are fairly defined (and even prototyped) that are ready to take the next step forward towards launch. bring your idea and a prototype/mock-up and we’ll share the ideas quickly as a group for critique and feedback. then we’ll use the project canvas to think through all of the facets of launching this design, and get feedback from others on launch approaches. ideally, at the end of the evening you’ll walk away with a more robust vision and a plan for moving forward.

while you’re welcome to attend this jam if you’re not yet comitted to any specific project, we’ll give more time to those who have advanced concepts/prototypes.