As the dawn casts the first rays of light through the window, a silent companion awaits on the desk—a mug that holds more than just a beverage. It holds a secret smile, a shared joke among those who speak in semicolons and curly braces. This is the story of our first foray into blending the worlds of programming humor and everyday life with our ‘If (!coffee) Reboot’ mug.
The inception of this mug traces back to a simple yet universal truth that every coder understands: coffee is the fuel that keeps the gears of creativity turning. We wanted to encapsulate this sentiment not just through words, but through the very essence of what it means to be a programmer. The mug became our canvas, and Printful our brush, enabling us to transfer a thought into something tangible, something real.
Designing the mug was akin to writing a piece of code. There was a problem to solve—how to invoke a smile at the break of day—and we iterated over several designs before we landed on the perfect syntax. The phrase ‘if (!coffee) reboot(); else work();’ is more than just a playful nod to coding logic; it represents a rhythmic start to a coder’s day, a ritual that repeats as surely as loops in a script.
It was a learning curve, figuring out how to blend the aesthetic of code on the ceramic. We played with fonts, with colors, with placement, until it felt right. And just like the best pieces of code, the simplicity of the design belies the thought behind it. It’s meant to be a conversation starter, a badge of honor, and a source of solace all at once.
Seeing the design come to life on Printful, then integrating it into our Etsy store, was a moment of pride. It was a confirmation that what we had imagined could be shared with others, that our quirky sense of humor had a place in the world.
To our fellow coders, this mug is for you. It’s for the mornings when the code compiles at the first go, for the nights when it doesn’t. It’s for the days when you need a reminder to take a moment for yourself before diving back into the digital world. And for those who might not speak our coding language, it’s an invitation to glimpse into our world, where a good day starts with a good cup of coffee—or a reboot.