Research Project

Restaurants and chefs are in a prominent position in the dissemination of food culture, in creating habits and trends. Replicating and propagating a good food culture is the responsibility of those whose profession is to feed people.  When food becomes an object consumed even without being eaten, the field of immaterial design, with a focus on experience, rather than the simple sale of tangible products, is capable of proposing tools to transform relationships, value origins, build loyalty relationships and transform the consumer into an active participant in the production chain. Design as a process of social integration, engaging effective participation, where the role of the user becomes that of a participant, has the potential for social change. The design of a service that has broad support from the catering industry, attentive to usability and particular profile, intends to provide answers and technical support to restaurants that understand the responsibility and impact they have on society, the economy and environmental preservation. A set of services that symbolize values ​​identified by the consumer, that dialogue with the user experience, with a marketing appeal capable of influencing the entire sector has transformative potential at the local scale, being a first step towards the desired global impact.

Publications

Gonzalez, E., & Cipolla, C. (2020). Design, short food supply chain and conscious consumption in Rio de Janeiro. In Experiencing Food, Designing Sustainable and Social Practices (pp. 109–116). CRC Press. https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003046097-18

Gonzalez, E. (2019). Social innovation possibilities on food production-consumption relationship: an eye on the design of short food supply chains and the local markets. Blucher Design Proceedings, 194–201. https://doi.org/10.5151/7dsd-1.2.018