To eat not only serves sustainment of life – quite the opposite: where, how and what we eat reflects a lot about the personality and a society. Our shopping communicates about the place and how we prepare, cook and garnish food. All actions and specific goods and tools involved are full of rituals and symbols of which we rarely know.
Since I have started out my profession in teaching, as a professor I offer product design projects that consciously deal with the topic of cooking, table and eating culture. Theoretical and practical observations have enabled many of my students to treat the whole topic in a more reflective and sensible way. Many values and rituals of eating culture are in danger of extinction. Qualitative knowledge of eating culture does not get passed on and is about to be stuck. I am convinced that intensive discussions and resulting design studies can offer new and refreshed values of our eating culture for the consumer. In this context design can and should ensure to draft, communicate and prepare for new models of potential value creation in order to develop responsible and sustainable visions for current and future products and services.
Titled »creating culture«, a selection of current projects and dissertations from product design students at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar is collected and catalogued. As an extract of that collection, some of the current graduation projects and study projects will be shown during the Ambiente 2012 in Frankfurt.
Download the catalog »creating culture«
Ambiente 2012
10.2.2012 - 14.2.2012
Halle 4.0 F91
Professor Gerrit Babtist
Product Design
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Alina Dorsch – Daily – bread, butter + salt
For the enjoyment of a really tasty light meal it doesn't need a lot…
Learning to appreciate handmade bread again and making it sensual tangible. The bread is stored in a through magnets closable linenbag which is hung on the provided device on the kitchen wall. There it is leaping to the eye.
Pleasure without any extras needed: bread, butter and salt only. The latter stored in stoneware clay bins. The butter is kept fresh due to cold water in the bin keeping it air sealed. No exterior refrigeration is needed. The salt is dosed between the fingertips, the reversible linen sheet also functions as tablecloth.
Contribution to the semester project in Product Design 2011
Anna Quentin – Drinking assistant »Fountain«
Preventive measures like drinking enough water keeps us healthy and fit. Still a lot of people are struggling with drinking enough. The product is an assembly of five stacked glasses. It divides the daily amount into smaller portions, which makes it easier to manage. Starting from the top every glass has a slightly differed colour to give a feedback on the already consumed amount of water. The tallest glass has a lid and it’s size matches with standard water taps and keeps refilling simple. So tap water becomes an accessible drink even in public.
Diplom Product Design 2011
Arvid Häusser – Seppl
Espresso machine in porcelaine
The qualities of porcelaine like high thermal storage, neutrality in taste and an antiseptic surface are making the material ideal for the use in food context. The machine is attached on the wall. This helps keeping work space free and relieves the operability. The single components are seperatly affixed and completely visible. This makes the process of coffee preparation comprehensible for the user.
Contribution to the semester project in Product Design 2011
Christian Krüger – Spunk & Krummelus Spunk & Krummelus
Bottles for the lemonade
Lemonade is a liquid of of dreams. It satisfies the appetite and not the thirst. Oh, please don't forget the leisure. The glass bottles are dedicated to this dream. The set includes a mixing and serving pitcher, a syrup bottle and a herb harvesting bowl.
Contribution to the semester project in Product Design 2011
Fang Hu – Food Therapy
A series of ritual products for the special Ginger-Water
Among Chinese people it is said that due to its therapeutic effects food has a special meaning of quality. Nowadays ginger tea is also appreciated in Europe because of its typical fresh and unique pepperiness and its immediately warming effect. Therefore, the knowledge how ginger is to be prepared and used should be published.
The thesis shows a ritual product series for storage and preparation of the traditional Chinese ginger-brown sugar-water, as well as a new ginger-water-ceremony for Europeans.
Diplom Product Design 2011
Karen Häcker & Franz Junghans – School Garden
The Childrens Garden
Nowadays, school gardens are often regarded as antique or outdated. Their value is highly underestimated in the education of children. Many of these are growing up in urban environments without any gardens and experience „fresh“ fruits and vegetables only in the supermaket. With this new school garden concept, nature is brought indoors. With a minimum of space, pupils interest is meant to be triggered in an individual, playful, as well as an pedagogical way for gardening. As a result, their overall sense of responsibility for nature and food becomes enhanced.
Contribution to the semester project in Product Design 2011
Holger Eichinger – Bone cutlery
Bone as material
Bone as material has largely disappeared from our everyday life. It has been replaced by synthetics. It has become foreign to us. The leather in which we attire, does not provoke any emotion in us. The sausage that we eat hardly brings us to think about what kind of animal has been stuffed into his own intestine. What kind of thoughts are being provoked if we eat a shank of beef with cutlery that has been made by cattle bone?
Contribution to the semester project in Product Design 2011
Marie Burkhard – Eat and Tell
The language of food
In our society eating means much more than just survival. By choosing, preparing and offering food, we shape messages and describe, maintain and begin relationships. Soup tureen, platter and dessert frames: Three designs standing for this special facet of eating and underlining the intended messages.
Diplom Product Design 2011
Min-Fang Weng – Chá
The new interpretation of the tea ceremony
Tea is one of the most popular luxurious drinks and also the most of economically Plants of the world, which has positive medicinal effects. Originating in China, serving and tasting tea have a history of thousands of years and have been regarded as an aesthetic ritual.
In order to reach the inner harmony, the tea ceremony requires a detailed procedure of preparation and presentation of brewing, serving and drinking. The processs and the related equipments are however an obstacle to the spread of the tea-tasting in Occident. In this project, an new concept will be introduced to simplify this aesthetic ritual.
Contribution to the semester project in Product Design 2011
Stepahn Bohn – KLARA
Glass vessels suitable for induction cooking
»KLARA« is a combination of traditional materials and production techniques of the craftsmen from Thuringia with the technology of modern industrial kitchen hobs.
The concept resulted in a new conceptual and functional interpretation of a water kettle and coffeemaker. The design tries to break up the traditional picture of craftsmanship by contextualizing it into new perspectives to highlight the relevance of the crafts in the modern world.
Diplom Product Design 2011
Robert Hofmann & Jens Zijlstra – T40
An alternative tray-concept for snackbars and diners
Tray40 is a simple solution for snack-bars and diners. Reduced to the basics, the guest gets his own tray. A bowl for meals and a glass for drinks are integrated. With the tray hooked on a rail, the hands are free. Eating is simplified with one tool that combines spoon and fork. This also eases the organisation in the kitchen. Finally, the guest gets a comfortable experience while having a communicative meal.
Contribution to the semester project in Product Design 2011
Jonas Althaus & Niclas Zimmer – Foodlab
Playful Cooking Experience
Cooking seems to be a daily task for adults, but it can be an exciting and remarkable experience for people of any age. Following this belief, we developed a kitchen embedded in a concept of family cooking vacation. Regional ingredients and recipes which are provided by the guesthouse, offer an insight into the local tradition. Problems caused by the wide range of age, like different body heights, have been considered. Additionally, the room structure makes it easier to cook with large groups and allows a clear view of what is going on. The »Food Lab« is based on the principle of equality – for any user.
Contribution to the semester project in Product Design 2011