FutureFarmer
A design research project about imagining the future of food through layered choices.
Ivy van Dongen, Elke van Deal, Vere Vreeswijk, Marc Wijkmans
Food is fundamental to our existence; it gives us energy and joy. Unfortunately, the production and practices surrounding food are also impacting the climate negatively. As people highly value food, changes can be unwanted. However, food could be a suitable medium to communicate the impact of climate change on our current food practices. Trends often influence the imagination of future scenarios in society. This research addresses two research questions: (i) How do people feel about the future of food when provoked with a climate change-induced future? and (ii) How do people feel about the future of food when provoked with a climate change-induced future? For this research, the Showroom methodology was used to gather qualitative data. FutureFramer was created out of multiple layers as an Experiential Future to have people shaping their future of food and to discover the motivations behind their decisions. Findings show that participants acknowledged that emerging technologies offer opportunities for new experiences, but had an overall aversion to technocentric future scenarios. The restrictions participants imagined in future practices were most often time and motivation.
The creation of the FutureFramer artefact aimed to serve as a perceptual bridge, guiding the audience into an alternate reality scenario. Comprising a wooden base with six slots, it holds transparent acrylic sliders, each adorned with distinctive labelling. Participants encounter imagery, an explanation of a two-option choice, and a corresponding question card ("What would you choose if...") on each slider. The diverse themes, centred around food practices—nutritional value, experience, storage, scarcity, taste, and production—encourage participants to explore their future perspectives on food from various angles. The intent is to unveil the motivations behind their decisions by presenting trend-driven choices within these thematic contexts.
My contribution
Without going into details, my contribution has been ideating the future scenarios for the FutureFramer and
designing the icons that represent these scenarios. This allowed me to further develop my ability to get creative when dealing with a lack of information and allowed me to further develop my Adobe hard skills. Moreover, I collected qualitative data and learned the importance of having you own opinion when having a discussion with participants. On top of that, I learned how to perform a deductive and inductive research during the data analysis and interpretation of the collected data.
designing the icons that represent these scenarios. This allowed me to further develop my ability to get creative when dealing with a lack of information and allowed me to further develop my Adobe hard skills. Moreover, I collected qualitative data and learned the importance of having you own opinion when having a discussion with participants. On top of that, I learned how to perform a deductive and inductive research during the data analysis and interpretation of the collected data.