A stylish new KeepCup has been designed for The Café at ECA, by fourth year BA (Hons) Animation student Ruge Li.

Ruge entered an open call for students to design the resuable cup - the aim was to promote sustainability, and celebrate both The Café, and the link between KeepCup and the University of Edinburgh, which goes back to 2011. She created a design featuring a series of still animation frames, which show a person drinking from their KeepCup as you rotate the cup between the frames.

Teaching Fellow Natalie Adamson-Wain, who was one of the judges, said: "The winning student for the KeepCup Design Competition was chosen based on key themes - To highlight the social aspect of eating and drinking and how The Café is at the centre of the ECA community; to share the sustainability message of reusing KeepCups; to promote and celebrate the long collaboration between KeepCup and University of Edinburgh. 

"The winning design by Ruge certainly covered all these and more. The cups look amazing - I bought one and am proudly using it. The colours and design look so fresh and modern - I think it looks great.”

Explaining her design, Ruge said: “The message of reuse and sustainability from KeepCup instantly reminds me of the looping nature of animation — the pleasure and satisfaction of witnessing something repeat. 

“The cup itself can serve as a lovely zoetrope, an ancient device used for animation. So I selected some frames from this looping animation and laid them out as the design. The colour palette of pink and green evokes a sense of peacefulness and relaxation. And I hope that’s how anyone holding this cup would feel.

"I’m super honoured that my design for KeepCup has been produced!"

Laura Taljaard of KeepCup said: "It’s been such a pleasure to see the creativity and passion coming through the KeepCup Design Competition at Edinburgh College of Art. The winning design by Ruge is a fantastic reflection of the values at the heart of both KeepCup and the ECA community – connection, sustainability, and innovation.

"We’re incredibly proud to have collaborated on this project, and it’s inspiring to see the finished KeepCups now in use and on sale at the café, championing reuse and student creativity in such a visible way.

"Thank you to everyone involved for helping bring this beautiful and meaningful design to life."

The cup is on sale at The Café for £11.