Abstract

This paper proposes and tests a design method for Eating Design, a sub-discipline of Food Design. The proposed design method focuses on the fact-finding phase of the design process and aims at generating data that can then be used by designers to create design ideas and final design solutions for eating events. The method aims at producing new meanings on aspects of the eating events, in order to be subsequently used to generate design solutions that present a radical change in meaning. The proposed method employs the use of a visual tool called Visual Explorer used mainly as a leadership tool, and therefore new in design research. In order to make the proposed method specific for generating data for the design of eating events, the Five Aspect Meal Model has been adopted as its structure. The method has been tested using two different samples: a users sample and an interpreters (experts) sample in order to compare the results. The method has produced dialogues which have been transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. This allowed generating two different sets of themes representing the characteristics of people’s ideal eating events. The two sets of themes have subsequently been tested in a workshop where designers used the given themes as the bases to create design ideas and design scenarios for an eating event. Results show that the themes were easy to use and understand and were indeed adequate for the generation of ideas and design scenarios for eating events. Some of the final design scenarios also seem promising in potentially being developed into design solutions presenting a radical change in meaning.

Keywords

design methods, eating design

Share

COinS
 
Jul 1st, 12:00 AM

Designing New Meanings: A Design Method for Eating Design

This paper proposes and tests a design method for Eating Design, a sub-discipline of Food Design. The proposed design method focuses on the fact-finding phase of the design process and aims at generating data that can then be used by designers to create design ideas and final design solutions for eating events. The method aims at producing new meanings on aspects of the eating events, in order to be subsequently used to generate design solutions that present a radical change in meaning. The proposed method employs the use of a visual tool called Visual Explorer used mainly as a leadership tool, and therefore new in design research. In order to make the proposed method specific for generating data for the design of eating events, the Five Aspect Meal Model has been adopted as its structure. The method has been tested using two different samples: a users sample and an interpreters (experts) sample in order to compare the results. The method has produced dialogues which have been transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. This allowed generating two different sets of themes representing the characteristics of people’s ideal eating events. The two sets of themes have subsequently been tested in a workshop where designers used the given themes as the bases to create design ideas and design scenarios for an eating event. Results show that the themes were easy to use and understand and were indeed adequate for the generation of ideas and design scenarios for eating events. Some of the final design scenarios also seem promising in potentially being developed into design solutions presenting a radical change in meaning.

 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.