Together Through Taste

Fostering Belonging via Food

Design Strategy & Research . 2023

Project Overview
In the spring of 2023, Parsons School of Design and Common Era, the R&D engine of the Jim Joseph Foundation, invited students from across the college to participate in a design sprint - titled How Do You Belong?.

Our goal as designers was to create belonging through simple objects and experiences. Belonging was our North Star at every stage.

Partners

My Role
Design Researcher
Product Strategist
Pun Adder ;)

Project Scope
Actionable + Scalable Prototype

Duration
3 weeks

Result
Voted #1 amongst all submissions
Showcased at Parsons Benefit 2023

Team of 5
Juilee Narkar, Kavita Mishra, Rudolfo Kusulas, Samaksh Jain, Selen Shojaee

Methods & Tools
Design Sprint
Design Research
Synthesis & Insights Generation
Rapid Prototyping
Execution Roadmap
Figma, Mural, Adobe CS

Process

Through design sprints, we explored the creative brief across 2 sessions, 3 weeks and uncountable ‘magic creating behind-the-scenes’ hours.

Mapping
How ‘we’ belong? as a starting point.

As international students and immigrants in the New York City, we bonded over our shared love for food as a source of comfort in a foreign environment…

…And choose food as a lever of design intervention to foster belonging.

Research

Mapping the Community-Impact Tree, we gained understanding of systemic interconnectedness between various actors in society and defined the population we wanted to design for - “Immigrants in NYC”.

Actors & Their Ecosystem

Speaking with other immigrants, we understood nuances of belonging as…

belonging is | | two sided

Belonging happens not just by wanting to belong but also by encountering spaces of acceptance.
It is a two-way street where immigrants bring their culture and experiences, while also learning about and accepting new cultures.
Food adorns this street organically.
agency {activates} belonging

Immigrants, once experts in their own culture, become novices in a new place by momentarily losing their expertise.
Regaining the agency to contribute meaningfully and share with others invokes a sense of belonging within the community.
Food courageously brings this agency back.

Insights to Action

NYC is a city of immigrants.
First and most visited place is the grocery stores. They are also the spaces where people feel the most alien.

Ideation

Design Intervention

Gateway Cards teach about little known foods from diverse cultures around the world.

The first step to create a plural community around food!

Gateway Cards

They open doors to a learning experience that promotes curiosity, empathy, cultural understanding, and appreciation.

The info cards are placed in bodegas and local grocery stores.
They offer brief introduction to different ethnic foods, including their ingredients, cultural significance, and fun facts.
The QR code links to a simple recipe that uses ingredients which are easy to obtain at the store.
The cards educate customers on diverse foods, spotlighting unique recipes and ingredients, promoting exploration, and fostering appreciation for different cultures and cooking methods.