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Playfoodness Workshop

Instructor

Anuja Thanawala

Guest Facilitators

Amit & Pranshu

Location

Online

No. of Participants

12

Duration

2 weeks

The workshop was based on an interdisciplinary experimental approach, with a focus on food design, experience design and socio-cultural practices. It was was an attempt to emulate the essence of play with the aid of food. The workshop was conducted as part of the Open Elective 2022 for B.Des. & M.Des. students of National Institute of Design.

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Overview

PLAY has the power to create immersive and dynamic experiences which have the potential to improve people’s lives as well as to impart useful learning. Today, as we are living in this highly digitised society, have we forgotten how to play with other materials, mediums and modalities? 

Food has been an integral part of human lives since time immemorial. Food and PLAY have a lot of similarities. Food has the power to bring people together and so does play. Can food and play bring together people from diverse backgrounds to create societies which are more inclusive, equitable, sustainable and resilient?

Objectives

“We don't stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing” - George Bernard Shaw

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Today, with the digital revolution in full swing, we are surrounded by things and services which provide convenience often at the cost of playfulness, social & tactile interactions and meaningful experiences. 

In the current digital world full of 2D screens our stimuli is restricted to screens and allied modalities. How can we inculcate the attitude of playfulness and experimentation and introduce mediums with multi-modal stimuli. Food is multi-sensory and immersive and has a lot of characteristics which promote play. 

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The key objectives of this workshop are to:

  • Introduce food as a medium of design by encouraging participants to look at food beyond eating. (eg. semiotics of food, Gustatory synesthesia, etc.)

  • Promote and help cultivate an attitude of playfulness and experimentation through the medium of food.

  • Find parallels between play and food and how we can leverage these in design.

  • Understand play as an aspect of the design process, method of inquiry and innovation to help solve complex problems.

  • Use the different aspects of food and play to create immersive experiences and for informing the society or shed light on issues.

Workshop Process

The participants were taken on a journey where play and food crossed paths. They drowned themselves in food and played with diverse perspectives and ideas. 

The explorations lead them down memory lane and saw things in new light.

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The discussions and discourses led them to numerous new discoveries, uncovering interesting connections between food, play and also found interconnections between the two. The intersection of both spheres sparked divergent ideas.

A speculative design approach was introduced to help participants combine aspects of Food and Play to imagine playful futures through the lens of food by building scenarios and narratives

Workshop Outcomes

Participants Envisioned Playfoodness Worlds where,

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  • Any food can taste like your favourite dish/ flavour.

  • You can eat your homes and furniture.

  • Bots make food from your memories. 

  • Cannibalism is mainstream.

  • Food grows instantly in a machine.

  • Food is gifted.

  • Special foods are absorbed through skin.

  • Digital farms cultivate food.

  • Meals are bars & liquid. 

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View the detailed outcomes created by each participant here.

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