Deconstructing Product Design

Hug Salt and Pepper Shakers

Alberto Mantilla, 2002

1. Perhaps a response to the racially divisive midcentury Aunt Jemima and Uncle Mose salt and pepper shakers, or more symbolically a statement about how superficial differences can be overcome through gestures of kindness, the Hug Salt and Pepper shakers clearly have more to do with delivering a progressive social statement than delivering kitchen table condiments. Alberto Mantilla comments: “The very nature of the Hug connotes brotherhood. The bold use of black and white suggests that we are all brothers and sisters on this planet and we need to treat each other with kindness, compassion, and respect.”
2. The forms are abstractly anthropomorphic, resembling two ghosts in an embrace. The shakers ...