Studio project on eating experience manipulation in order to change food appearance and taste perception to mitigate dietary issues.
Food is not only a primary need in terms of survival but it affects on our health, mood, behaviours and habits characterising our life style. The food we used to eat reflects our culture, family traditions and preferences according to flavors but also to the enjoyment related to the experience of tasting those specific dishes.
The Colors Dinner, Video by Santiago González Pascual
This studio focuses on meal experience in order to underline how to manipulate it
through design intervention testing food palatable characteristics during childhood as well adulthood with the intent to compare them. The aim of this research is to discover which parameters are playing a role on willingness to eat and taste perception according to food visual appearance in order to modify them ensuring the same enjoyment during meal.
This visual expedients are useful in case of eating disorders as well to regulate our appetite according to our dietary needs when the alimentary habits are limited to program a correct food intake. Thanks to the experimentations it is notable how colors of lighting and tableware affects on food perception in terms of quantity, quality and even sapidity manipulating the will to taste a specific dish and the satisfaction assuming a certain amount of food but presented according to specific standards.
Mr. Fooder is a conceptual domestic robot for kitchen able to suggest how to cook and how to present custom recipes based on our sanitary profile. Especially if the user suffers from an eating disorder or follows a specific diet, he will eat particular foods and in certain quantities often to detriment of the enjoyment related to the experience of having a gratifying meal.
Mr. Fooder is a friendly cooking assistant who takes care of archiving our grocery shopping in order to recommend us the variety of dishes we can made just consulting the app, and in case of a lack of skills it follows the user from the recipe to the presentation step by step.
It is a modern butler, thanks to its culinary abilities it knows a few tricks to perceive a different amount of food compared to the real quantity we are serving, just taking advantages of food disposition on plate. When it is time to feed our stomach and mind it changes the environment through lighting enhancing the atmosphere and driving our feelings modifying the dish appearance.
Look at the MA Design projects here presented at the CASS MA Show 2015
Look at Mr. Fooder also here presented at the 2nd International Conference on Food Design, at the New School – New York 2015
Major project – Dissertation MA Product Design
Sir John Cass Faculty of Art, Architecture and Design at London Metropolitan University
Studio Leader: Susan Ginsburgh, Supervisor: Jeremy Bradley
designed by: Gloria Viganò – 2015
Gloria Viganò product designer 