Since the Trend Talk & Food Design Event was a local event in Barcelona and many people asked if we would ever bring that program to another market, here goes a first review on this special edition we designed for the Barcelona Design Week 2019.
The idea behind was to create a program where trend information could be directly translated into a product. Further more, we wanted to combine a product presentation with a sensorial experience and interaction with the audience.
What better than offering a food design experience?
To start with, food designer Elsa Yranzo is a long-term contributor since she offers the catering concepts for my mood board masterclass, and we had been toying with the idea for a while on how to design an experience together suitable for open-access and corporate events.
We had a great time and enjoyed that experience very much ourselves! I’ll explain later what are we holding on the image below in our hands:)
The event started with a Trend Lecture where I would share 3 Interior Design & Lifestyle Trends 2020 which are Knowmadism, Regeneration and Self-Actualization, all three catered towards different audiences but having a common guideline which was:
“How to hone new skills, recycle myself, get empowered as a consequence, and then contribute to society.”
Each trend is rather complex, this is why they were divided in three specific subchapters in regards to the audience (meaning their interests and profession).
Here you see the subdivisions of Self-Actualization. The trends were translated also into trend panels or mood boards you could find on the different tables and food installations.
As usual, we were providing worksheets, too to take notes during the conference and be able to translate the learnings later into real opportunities.
I will give you a short overview on each trend and show you the corresponding translation we designed:
1// KNOWMADISM
A brief trend intro: KNOWmads travel due to work, pleasure or both (=Bleisure: business+leisure). Some switch destinations every 3-5 years and carry their knowledge from place to place sharing their experience. KNOWmads look for like-minded communities to offer synergies, they are well-informed and eager to learn more.
Experimentation, failure, hacking and re-evaluation are core beliefs leading towards studied design objects and services whose power is their versatility. KNOWmads are society changers and they consider flexibility to be the new normal.
The three subdivisions were:
1// Open-end Design
2// Silence
3// Flexibility
The edible skins you see above are made from soy with main ingredients such as eggplant (violet), pepper (red), onion (brown) and parsley (green). These are the vegan skins we are holding in our hands on the first image.
The idea was to cut into pieces the amount you’d like to taste and fill the slices with extra toppings we had as a side dish (below).
“Knowmads love to interact and be part of a process. They feel confident to step into a design process, assemble and dissemble with ease. This is why this installation needed to offer a maximum of flexibility and personalization.”
This little bag (image below) is made from potato stark. Elsa took a small machine to the event to produce our own bags and fill it with a snack of your choice.
The bag itself was edible and would melt in 2 seconds in your mouth.
“How interesting could it be if we were able to produce our own edible packaging, reduce waste, decide on what goes inside and have the freedom to snack guilt-free?”
2// REGENERATION
A brief trend intro: This is a moment of huge opportunity, where end consumers are demanding a trade-off between covering basic or standard needs and lowering impact on nature. Not only ensuring a better environment is important, but also to avoid creating more trash.
Individuals are operating from a sustainability mindset and increasing the pressure on various points: government and institutions, brands, and new to the game, the designer himself, as being responsible for the current mess. The cal is to act all together, calling for greater transparency and pushing for more sustainable alternatives.
The 3 subdivisions were:
1// Creative Waste
2// Living Organism
3// Vegan Design
All food was made by chef Xavi Morón (Hidden Factory) from organic waste such as eggplant, onion and carrot peel, and the leaves of root vegetables we normally discard.To show how much use you can give to organic peels, please see a piece of fabric further below that was died with onion peel.
“What if we stopped discarding organic waste we produce in our own kitchen and consider reusing leaves, roots and peels?”
What if we start asking at our fruit and vegetable shops for the ugly pieces that get discarded because they have a double root, stains on the peel or a shape that is not normal?
Between 20% and 40% of the fruit and vegetables produced in Europe are thrown away before they reach the shops, just because they are ugly.
I learned that number three years ago during an event Elsa produced and remember the impact it had on me.
You couldn’t tell if the food was made from peels or the the vegetable itself, it was delicious. The garlic flower would give a lovely visual touch and tasted amazing!
If you are interested in the full REGENERATION Trend Report, please have a look here.
3// SELF-ACTUALIZATION
A brief trend intro: An increasing general feeling of comfort around the basic needs (physiological, safety, belonging and love, and esteems needs as described by Abraham Maslow) is the ultimate drive for the research of personal completion.
Individuals want to create or maintain the conditions to nurture their ideal-self, to become everything that one is capable of. Which can be interpreted as the ultimate state of well-being and mental health, a process of self-grow that is as much personal as it is altruist and empathic.
The 3 subdivisions were:
-
Personalization of needs
-
Overcoming struggle
-
Self-tracking design
As seen already with the first trend, we offered a very personal take on what you could eat and added a sensorial experience to it. The sweet white chocolate containers (image above) made of coca and rice being almost tasteless were filled with the help of several tools. All ingredients responded to certain effects such as giving you more energy or calmness, and we even included CBD in line with latest discoveries and trends.
The question we raised was:
“What do you need today? Is it mindfulness, good sleep or energy? Prepare your own sweet container with the ingredients you feel are good for you.”
It’s been a great experience and we can’t wait to take this event to other markets in a future. Though I love Trend Lecture as a keynote presentation only, I believe this is an extended version which is really interesting stimulating senses and opening discussions.
Ph:@ CarladelToro
The idea was to combine both, a more intelectual take with a sensorial interactive experience, we are frankly happy with the result and hope to be this one of many more to come.
