The Stanley Cup, awarded to the winner of the National Hockey League playoffs, is an example of visceral design, concerning itself with appearances. The cup began with the smaller bowl at the top when Lord Stanley donated it in 1892 to be awarded to Canada's amateur hockey championship. As a challenge cup, it passes from one award winner to the next. Originally bought for ten guineas, it has become in the words of MasterCard "priceless". The chief design elements maximizing the emotion are the lower bands, first added in 1908, (with the cup achieving its current shape and size in 1958) and the engraved names. The competition, which allows the names of all team members of the winning team to be engraved on the cup, has converted it to the Holy Grail in some minds. The engraved names are a design element that unifies the history of the challenge. 
image source: courtesy of Bob Graham
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