(Food) Design for Bliss

Abstract

This graduation project focuses on blissful eating experiences in the home context. After research on positive psychology and factors contributing to blissful eating, a positive design approach was applied to design concepts that assist people in savouring their home eating experience in order to enable blissful eating.

Literature research was conducted on design for happiness as well as the senses involved in the eating experience and factors contributing to a pleasurable eating experience. Within this process the happiness enhancing strategy of replaying and savouring was identified as particularly relevant. It can be reached through multiple strategies such as sharing with others, sharpening sensory perception and memory building. The research factors influencing the eating experiences revealed the multisensory character of eating and the need to address more than just the sense of taste. Additionally, literature showed that the eating experience in high-class restaurant is already designed but that the home eating context has not yet been as thoroughly investigated.

The subsequent qualitative research verified that the same factors contributing to pleasurable eating are also relevant for the peak experience of bliss. Furthermore, the conducted studies added detailed qualitative knowledge with 13 stimuli, 2 organism variables and 3 response variables influencing the eating experience. The results were translated into a card set that visualizes blissful eating experiences, food products, objects and customs and can be used for ideation. Many of the reported blissful eating experiences took place in the home eating context and the strategy of savouring was mentioned by many participants.

Combining the results from literature and qualitative study the design goal of assisting people in savouring their home eating experience to enable bliss in eating was derived. In the design the interventions that yielded good results after ideation, prototyping and user tests, were combined to three concepts assisting people in savouring their home eating experience: the mindful spoon, the sharing plate and the travelling tin. Containing a lens the mindful spoons aims to sharpen the sensory perception of people eating alone through magnifying food details. The sharing plate is designed for couples and aims to inspire people to serve their food in a creative way that encourages sharing. Sitting face to face the couple is connected through balancing the plate on their laps. The travelling tin is filled with homemade food and passed on to a person with a different cultural background which encourages memory building.

After several iterations and building interactive prototypes all three concepts were tested by seven participants or couples in order to evaluate if the design goal of assisting people in savouring their home experience was met. Each test was followed by an interview. In general, the participants responded positively to all three concepts but also mentioned some weak points that led to recommendations for further improvement. Summarizing the test results, the participants described rich emotions caused by the products and reflected positively on the indicators for a blissful experience.