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Speculative packaging based on global tea and coffee habits

Problem

With advancements in technology surrounding food production, there have been impacts on the collective aspects of food consumption. As these habits vary across different cultures around the globe, how might such rapid advancements affect global food cultures?

Timeline

Fall 2018
10 weeks

Project Team

Ashesh Gohil

My Role

Contextual Research
3D Models
Affinity Mapping
Prototyping

Understanding evolving dining habits

With technological advancements, eating habits have been impacted. To explore the possibility of how they would further evolve, I decided to experiment with experiences of food consumption.

NASA Astronauts using 3D food printer

America’s disappearing dining rooms

Early Prototypes

I explored modification of food consumption techniques through prototypes that resemble behaviors surrounding common foods like a plate that folds like a pizza or a caffeine chapstick. This led to identifying the important aspects of food consumption like cultural significance, rituals, and convenience.

Since culture and rituals play an important part in determining food behaviors, I wanted to know which common behavioral aspect would be impacted the most.

Behavioural Experiments

These experiments indicated amplifying certain everyday rituals for many people, but often gets overlooked by the consumer due to their fast-paced life.

Consuming food from different cultures

Using misshapen cutlery

A taste test of tea made with different methods

These experiments indicated amplification of certain everyday rituals for consumers, but often get overlooked due to their fast-paced life.

Cups based on behaviours

Based on the ritualistic nature of drinking coffee or tea every day, and the habits accompanying them, the juxtaposition with an everyday coffee cup would anthropomorphize the cultural aspects surrounding these behaviors.

Common behaviours associated with tea and coffee connsumption

Each of the lids in the images below represents certain cultural traditions-

Ashtray represents a common habit of having a tea /chai break, often with a smoke.
Dipper indicates a common practice of eating biscuits with tea at roadside stalls in India.
Whisk represents the practice of whisking in traditional Matcha-making in Japan.
Holder indicates the lifting the bowl with both hands in traditional Matcha making.