workbook
Studio 2 / MASD
The Green Pudding
Silvana Juri
Studio outcome:
Introduction
The work for Studio 2 seeks to advance
and build upon the work developed for
Futures. It is based on the evidence
available on the literature indicating that
potentially successful design interventions
working towards dietary behaviour change
could benefit from combining different
elements that rely on experiences,
emotions and a strong social component.
As such, my proposition represents a
formalised hypothesis, that serves both a
test of a method and a solution in itself.
The outcome that I’m proposing is a
service product that is presented and
communicated via its web platform.
The website can be accessed at: thegreenpudding.co
Background
The problem
Many researchers and organizations have made numerous recommendations
expressing the need for a shift in diets by reducing meat and dairy overconsumption.
(Milner et al., 2015) Informational approaches such as campaigning and labelling have
been introduced and tested, but haven’t yielded acceptable levels of impact (Rekhy &
McConchie, 2014). It has been acknowledged that the ‘information déficit approach’ is an
outdated psychological idea, as “decision making is often more complex than traditional,
linear models assume; it may be influenced by underlying heuristics and by emotions”
(Ockwell et al., 2009).
1 Interventions trying to change people’s diets are controversial and extremely challenging
as they inevitable touch psychological, social, economical and cultural values
(Macdiarmid et al., 2015) There has been a general reluctance to address this issue as
governments tend to avoid been seen as the infamous “nanny state”, where a strong
interventionist approach of “telling people what to eat” is seen to attack freedom of
choice which proves to be politically unpopular and problematic. Literature studying the
problems behind addressing dietary and behaviour change points at adopting different,
innovative, cross-disciplinary approaches, as the nature of the problem and its
complexities fall within different fields of study.
One of the biggest challenges in relation to the adoption of behaviour changes relates it
to engagement. Ockwell et at. (2009), drawing on previous theory (Lorenzoni, NicholsonCole,& Whitmarsh, 2007) has defined engagement as “having three key components:
cognitive (understanding/ knowledge), affective (emotion/interest and concern), and
behavioral”. This means that information is not enough when trying to lead people into
action, but that the interaction of all of these realms is what will generate the
engagement necessary for actions to follow. The problem of lack of action is one of the
biggest hindrances to overcome. This is usually referred to as the “value-action gap” or
the “attitude-behaviour gap”:
“Why is there limited public engagement with climate change? The disparity between
public awareness about climate change on the one hand, and the limited behavioral
response on the other is consistent with the widely-reported “value-action” or
“attitude-behavior” gap in psychology (e.g., Blake, 1999; Kollmuss & Agyeman, 2002;
Ungar, 1994).” - Ockwell et al., 2009
An additional challenge is the fact that people have a tendency to put the blame on
governments and enterprises. This goes hand in hand with the idea of low Perceived
Consumer Effectiveness, which is defined as “the extent to which the consumer believes
that his personal efforts can contribute to the solution of a problem” (Vermeir, I. &
Verbeke, W., 2006) - also referred to as the “free-rider effect”:
“Other people are unwilling to take action because they find it too difficult or costly, or
because they consider it a waste of time when the majority is doing nothing (the socalled “free- rider” effect–see, for example, Cornes & Sandler, 1987; Demsetz, 1967;
& Oates & Portney, 2001).” - Ockwell et al., 2009
This is why literature focused on behaviour change points out to different routes that
could potentially be effective. However, they all seem to suggest taking into account
personal and communal ideas, emotional engagement, hedonic vs meaningful
approaches and the generation of habits for long term effectiveness while maintaining a
positive perspective (ideas of happiness and wellbeing) is the general direction to take.
What follows is a brief summary of what each of these elements consist of.
2 Personal/Communal
Regardless of the different views or theoretical backgrounds, different authors suggest
the need to rely on personal relationships (the personal perspective and perceived
personal benefits) but place them within a broader social context. This means, the value
of this social or communal context provides much needed social support and is seen as
a crucial motivator to drive change.
“Rather than emphasising the role of individual agency, however, practice theorists
emphasise the role of the social environment in supporting change (via an emphasis
on context, setting and situation).” - Jackson & Viehoff, 2016
Emotional engagement
Different theorists studying the role of emotions and its link to consumer engagement
point out personal concerns (Ozkaramanli, & Desmet, 2012) that have a higher priority
or interest for a person (such as self-actualization) will determine whether a product can
elicit a strong enough emotion that will in turn make a product more appealing. This
effect is especially prominent when concerns relate to personal well-being.
“Frijda (2007) argues that emotions can generate long-term goals, when a
specific concern obtains a high priority in the hierarchical concern structure of a
person. Such concerns are goals with high emotional value: The process of
achieving the goal may not be emotional, but the person is still emotionally
engaged with the goal.” - Ozkaramanli, & Desmet, 2012
Hedonic vs. meaningful
It has been acknowledged that well-being relates to two main elements: a hedonic one,
otherwise referred to as happiness, and meaning, which involves a less personal interest
towards a more collective or shared vision or goals. This is considered to be the
necessary element for long-term happiness. (Sääksjärvi, Hellén, & Desmet, 2015)
“Human beings need a variety of different kinds of goods, services, experiences
and relationships in order to achieve wellbeing (Jacobs, 1995, emphasis
added)(…)In addition to the basic physiological needs (clean air, water, etc.),
human life requires many other needs to be fulfilled, both at the personal
(freedom, self-development, recreation, psychophysical health, etc.) and at the
collective (social contacts, norms and values, ideals, cultural identity, etc.) levels.
These needs, when fulfilled, benefit not only the individuals as such, but also the
society they compose.” - Chiesura & De Groot, 2003
3 Habits and lifestyles
Focusing on lifestyle changes rather than specific and more objective goal-oriented
changes has been considered to be the best approach when dealing with behaviour
changes, and is the approach that most of the positive marketing work builds upon. It is
habits, repeated actions, that constitute what can be acknowledged as a lifestyle, a sum
of repeated or regular actions that follow a specific pattern or personal logic. The benefit
behind habits is based on the fact that they require less effort as they don’t imply making
conscious considerations and decisions anymore, relieving some of the weight of making
the right decision. Adopting habits serve as a good strategy for behaviour change by
making use of more unconscious processes of decision making, especially in relation to
personal well-being.
From a food well-being perspective, Bublitz et al. (2013) states that “Habits are
mechanisms consumers use to forgo deliberative, contemplative decisions to engage in
healthy eating and use automaticity as a positive response.”
Moreover, and in relation to happiness, “impacting long-term happiness requires
performing specific types of experiences systematically over a longer time period, which
is not only relatively demanding and effortful, but also not necessarily a hedonic
experience for the participant (Layous & Lyubomirsky 2014; Lyubomirsky 2001)”
(Sääksjärvi et al. 2015)
Experience vs Product
Different design theorists seem to agree on an overall shift from products towards
experiences, especially in a time when there is an overhelming offer of products coming
into the market. It is also an approach that has been taken by marketers as a way of
differentiating products and offering an additional layer of meaning and appealing - that
is, promoting products based on attibutes beyond functionality. The term “experiential
attributes” is used to refer to elements based on information relying on the senses and
on emotions (Joško Brakus et al., 2014)
“Desmet and Hekkert (2007) argue that the product experience has to be
considered in its three subcategories: the aesthetic experience, the experience of
meaning and the emotional experience. Designing beyond the object is the
approach to take when aiming at designing products and services that people
become emotionally attached to.“ - Zampollo, 2015
However, it is important to note, that from triggering emotional attachment based on firsthand, non-verbal informatio and cues is mostly effective when attemtpint to focus on
short-term hapiness. When long-term attachment and effect is sought after, there is a
need to provide some sort of object that can be kept and hence, serve as a trigger to
remind people of such previously experienced feelings. Service Design looks into this
solution in particular, when focusing on post-purchase interactions.
4 “Available empirical evidence points to the importance of adding a material
component to experiences for fostering longer-term happiness. (…) Material
components are likely to help people recall the experience and make it deeper
and more profound.” - Sääksjärvi et al., 2015
I find that many of the views expressed by these different authors complement each
other and, if combined, could possibly be exploited further. Specifically in relation to
dietary changes, the idea of food well-being (FWB) has been introduced by different
researchers. This directly relates to the perception of diet as a more holistic interrelated
set of actions and meanings as I have previously pointed out in the framework defined by
my Futures model. Bublitz et al. (2013) has pointed out to the definition made by Block et
al.(2011) that defines Food Well-being as “a positive psychological, physical, emotional,
and social relationship with food at both the individual and societal levels”. This supports
the idea that interventions that can highlight the value of personal health and wellbeing
need to rely on a combination of such key socio-cultural aspects, as they have been
used in the development of this work.
“Consumers may be empowered to use the cognitive and emotional influences
described in this section strategically to advance FWB by taking steps to
internalize positive influences and form healthy habits.” - Bublitz et al., 2013
This explains why highlighting the idea of well being through food becomes so relevant
when trying to engage people into adopting new dietary and lifestyle changes and thus,
the reason why it is the central selling point of the Workshop activity.
The workshop model as a combined approach
Based on these points, the hypothesis is that offering experiential, emotionally-rich social
scenarios can generate better opportunities for action by articulating all of these different
elements necessary to increase engagement.
This approach leads to focusing on a more holistic product, hence, the use of a
workshop (essentially a focus group model) activity. It has been acknowledged that focus
groups have the potential to be used as tools for social change, as they represent
spaces where its members can advance their understanding and skills, creating a sense
of empowerment that could lead to higher levels of resilience. Studies that have looked
at focus groups from a participatory action research perspective in relation to community
development aims, have clearly argued that this “model involves the transfer of skills and
technology to communities, as well a the introduction of a critical stance. The former
provides grassroots groups with the tools to conduct autonomous, sustained research
that is relevant to local needs and intelligence.” (Silverman, 2014). The value of an
activity that can both advance the discussion and build skills is of particular interest in
5 this arena of sustainable behaviour change, where it is often reported to appear as an
overwhelming area to engage with. The workshop space enables the interactions of all of
the elements that have been introduced previously (as the key ingredients to use when
aiming at behaviour change) in a social and open environment, where the value of the
activity itself can be assessed and perceived immediately by its participants. The social
element itself becomes an emotional trigger and aligns with theory that points out that
food choices are highly affected by social stimuli.
“Emotional components of deliberative processing external to the consumer
suggest how social influence (Andreasen, 1995) and feelings of social support
(Bagozzi, 2000; Brown & Reingen, 1987) influence choices.” - Bublitz et al., 2013.
Moreover, the use of sensorial and emotional triggers, exploits both conscious and
unconscious cognitive levels. This is of particular interest when dealing with food
experiences as:
“Many of our daily food choices are relatively low involvement decisions that
occur automatically with little thought or consideration. (…) In fact, some research
suggests that the average consumer makes over 200 food decisions each day,
most of them outside of conscious awareness (Furst, Connors, Bisogni, Sobal, &
Falk, 1996; Wansink & Sobal, 2007).“ - Bublitz, M.G. et al., 2013
Proposition:
The workshop as a service/product
This project exploits the collaborative nature of social spaces in relation to the use of
experiences and emotions to improve the understanding of issues related to sustainable
diets. In that sense, it consists of a holistically designed experience that is ultimately
targeted at generating and motivating behaviour change, although the main values and
benefit directly perceived by participants are the experiential and educational elements.
Categorising the solution as a service product means that the design process has taken
into consideration all of the elements and interactions from the user experience
perspective, prior to the use of the product and way beyond the experience has ended.
This product proposition (the workshop as a service/product) looks at the whole cycle of
interactions to maximise its impact, effectiveness and engagement.
The main focus of the design is the experience that participants (and facilitators) engage
with during the activity. The core of the product is intangible but it relies on the
interactions with communication pieces (website, cards) and objects (food, bowls) that
6 serve as interfaces that enable the experience to happen. It matches the general
descriptions of service design in the sense that the whole experience has been carefully
designed to provide cues and feedback throughout the whole product timeline: from the
website as a point of access for information, to the activity itself and the elements that
facilitate it (the kit), to the post-activity interaction and feedback (Thank You Coasters
and Club website). One of the main elements of this holistic proposition aims at providing
post-purchase support, via the online platform that serves as a community and as a
vehicle to provide further services and eventually, additional products. Greenbaum
(2016), has stated that when trying to sell focus-group types of activities (her business),
it is through her websites that most clients reach her and effectively hire her services.
The need
It has been widely acknowledged that people are tending to strive for experiences and
hence, that is where design should take. Moreover, the value of design has been
promoted as a highly sought after element within the business sphere, and designthinking has become a trendy term that many managers are willing to invest in.
“The interest in ‘Design Thinking’ expressed by the business and management
communities, who feel an urgent need to broaden their repertoire of strategies for
addressing the complex and open-ended challenges faced by contemporary
organisations (Stacey, Griffin, & Shaw, 2000).” - Dorst, K., 2011
It is within this context of design representing a field that can help businesses add value
to their brands and boost creativity and innovation that this service represents an
attractive opportunity from a business-manager perspective.
“Today we’re finding that innovation without emotion is uninteresting. Products
without aesthetics are uncompelling. Brands without meaning and undesirable.
And a business without ethics is unsustainable. (…) Design drives innovation,
innovation powers brand, brand builds loyalty, and loyalty sustains profits. If you
want long-term profits, don’t start with technology - start with design.” - Neumeier,
2009
Furthermore, the rise of obesity and the sedentary and stressful lifestyle patterns that
most desk-based work settings seem to entail, is a matter of common concern, not only
in terms of objective health concerns but also in terms of economic costs (both to
companies and to health services). In terms of the setting, offices and desk-workers are
prone to develop unhealthy eating habits or to incur in the adoption of ‘convenience’ and
even ‘fast’ foods because of lack of time, as it is perceived when people opt to eat their
lunches at their desks instead of taking the rightful lunch break.
7 Relying on convenience foods rather regularly can be problematic as it has been
acknowledged that the wide category of foods that fall under this term tend to not comply
with the very basic standards of balanced foods defined by the World Health
Organization.
“A study published in the British Medical Journal found that none of the 100
supermarket ready-meals it tested fully complied with WHO dietary guidelines
(Howard, Adams, & White, 2012), while another study described the composition
of ready-meals as ‘nutritionally chaotic’ (University of Glasgow, 2012).” Jackson, 2016
The fake notion of compromising food due to time-constraints can be easily challenged
as individuals that cannot fulfil their nutritional needs (and even a more general state of
well-being when missing the social aspect of sharing a meal) will eventually be prone to
illnesses and different health problems, causing a loss of time and money.
“The adverse dietary consequences of convenience food are explored by Dixon,
Hinde, and Banwell (2006) who make a direct link between the consumption of
such foods and increased rates of obesity and overweight” Halkier suggests that
research should focus on the way convenience food is used, appropriated and
made sense of in everyday life.” – Jackson & Viehoff, 2016
At the same time, promoting healthy and sustainable eating habits would suit and result
in benefits for the company’s bottom line (by increasing worker’s productivity and less
absences and leaves).
From the perspective of a business leader, the Workshop can appear attractive as a
means to comply with corporate social responsibility goals (specifically sustainability
goals in relation to more environmentally friendly practices) and also as a tool to improve
the workspace morale. Studies have shown that collaboration in the workspace,
especially social interactions and networking opportunities boosts creativity and
productivity among people. Workers that interact more, are prone to be more efficient (by
overcoming problems faster due to collaboration) and to feel happier, which in turn,
results in more value for the company.
“Facilitating informal social interactions in the workplace is known to be an
important mechanism for encouraging transfer of knowledge between workers
(Whittaker, Frohlich, & Daly-Jones, 1994; Bouty, 2000) and improving their social
capital (Tsai & Ghoshal, 1998; Oh, Chung, & Labianca, 2004). Social capital is
believed to be generated by creating new social links, and then strengthening
those links through shared activities and goals (Hawkins & Maurer, 2010;
Kawachi, Kim, Coutts, & Subramanian, 2004; Onyx & Bullen, 2000; Putnam,
1995).” - Soediono, 2015
8 It is clear that the potential of socializing and collaborating, increasing knowledge in
relation to the sustainable and health aspects of food, and building creative solving and
design-thinking skills represents the opportunity for high levels of interest from the
managerial roles.
The prominence of shared experiences within the context of the Workshop also fosters
collaboration and empathy among coworkers, enables team-building and an opportunity
for colleagues to help sublimate tensions and promote a good office atmosphere. It can
also help to identify and address possible group tensions in a completely different way,
through the use of out of the ordinary activities (in office settings) and food which is
historically associated to positive feelings and has been identified as a facilitator of
human interactions.
Target audience / target sectors:
In terms of the wider population, what this implies is that uneducated sectors of the
population, or people that do not have easy access to the latest information regarding
what more sustainable habits consist of, are not necessarily the population that needs to
be addressed or the one that represents the biggest challenges. On the contrary,
information dissemination practices of all sorts can be adopted but once this problem has
been sorted, we will still find ourselves with the same ‘wicked problem’: now that
everyone is on the same boat in terms of ideas and values, how do we translate those
values into actions? It is because of this that I suggest the best area to focus on is
addressing the other end of the spectrum, the informed population. Not only is this sector
easier to reach and outspokenly more interested in these issues, but it also consist of
individuals who have the skills and/or power to adopt, promote and replicate the
changes.
The emergent creative industries, specifically designers and start-ups, represent the
main group of businesses that could find this service especially attractive, as it would
directly contribute to their usual interest in exploiting their human resources and potential
to provide competitive advantage and added value in their market. It is because of the
human capital and a healthy and happy workforce that these businesses differentiate
themselves. They are also the ones that, due to their size, can adopt and adapt easily,
and could benefit from hosting the workshop or setting up their own (by further
increasing skill-building).
The brief
Goal:
9 To devise a workshop experience offered as product and strategically but planned as a
service. The experience should foster engagement, motivation, be enriching, educational
and include high perceived value for both participants and facilitators while touching on a
list of core elements: food literacy, sustainable behaviour skills, team-building, problem
solving and design-thinking skills, cooking skills, personal sensorial experience, social
experience
Description
ACTIVITY
The workshop is presented through a website where the nature of the activity is
communicated. The website presents the activity attributes, suggests who would find it
useful and prompts the potential client to examine and compare both versions, the actual
activity and the toolkit version. The website is the point of contact and sale – it enables
the booking of a workshop event, placing an order for a Kit and requesting further
information. In the future, it is also intended to be used to display successful casestudies and testimonials - once they are available.
The sections of the website reflect the information that a prospective client would look
for: information on the activity (what it consists of), photos of real examples, what the two
different versions offer and how they are different, what’s included in the Lab Kit and
what is not, access for previous participants (the Club) and information on who’s behind
the product, as a validation of its quality.
The delivery of the activity means the facilitator (myself or future trained facilitators) will
be in charge of providing all the elements that are part of the Kit but extends to providing
the food and fresh ingredients. It obviously includes the added value of the facilitator’s
experience with this specific activity. Furthermore, a post-activity report can be provided
upon request if the client requires it.
The openness and scope for adaptability of the activity based on the potential group and
client means that the pricing of this version of the activity needs to be assessed on a
case-by-case basis.
KIT
The kit elements consist of the material objects needed to deliver the workshop. All
perishable elements (fresh ingredients) and staples (kraft paper) are not included for
safety, practicality and flexibility. This means the activity is, after all, in the hands of
facilitators. It is up to them to acquire ingredients and prepare the food (which they could
adapt if necessary) and hence, there is a chance to manage costs in whatever way is
most effective for organizers.
10 A note on the name: Lab Kit
The decision to call the Box a LAB KIT is inspired by the laboratory kit games made for children. Additionally,
it relates directly to the idea developed with the workshop as a laboratory of co-creation, a space for
creativity and exploration. Along the same lines, a client that decides to purchase the Kit will embark on the
experiment of running the workshop by themselves, or orchestrating such exploration and collaboration,
hence, the literal reference to the aforementioned game.
Service development:
The steps of the process
During the initial phase of the work to turn the workshop idea into a product, it became
necessary to work on the branding.
“Branding is an essential part of part of market positioning, as it creates the
atmosphere that motivates the user to become aware of and consider the offering
in the first place. Information design has a far greater underlying and explicit
influence, since it changes how handles information and moreover has the power
to affect users’ perceptions of the value of a service proposition or indeed of any
of the information transfers between service provider and the service receipt that
is integral to the service experience.” - Stickdorn & Schneider, 2012
11 Developing an adequate name and brand image was necessary as a way to establish its
value and meaning, and differentiate it. The visual communication aspect was
particularly taken into account here to enable to build trust and entail a sense of quality
necessary to capture possible clients but also to maintain them into the future .
Contemporary definitions of marketing explain it as being centrally concerned with
identifying customers and then initiating and maintaining relationships with them in ways
that create value both for customers and organisations (Stickdorn & Schneider, 2012).
Using puddings as the main object of the activity and as the main metaphor, it became
relevant to continue to use “Pudding” as part of the name, but to add further meaning to
clarify its direction and make it more memorable (in a more client-friendly jargon).
Although choosing to call it “The Green Pudding” is a very obvious and even ‘cliched’
decisión (using “green” to relate it to environmental or ‘eco-friendly’ practices) the
greenness is both literal (as both puddings are based on green ingredients) and also
aimed at provoking a slight contrast by opposing it to the popular “Black Pudding” (that
stand on theopposite of the spectrum in terms of dietary choices). Establishing the
Pudding as the main element for the activity and the brand, makes communication
straightforward. The inclusion of the “co” element (domain extension), calls for ideas of
company, community, collaborative, co-creation, stressing again the core values behind
the brand and making it more memorable still.
The next step in the process was to develop the Lab Kit. The intention behind the
production of this kit was to enable the opportunity of this method to replicated remotely,
but more importantly, to offer a vehicle for its adaptation and further testing without
having to incur in additional costs. Dissemination and replicability are, in this sense,
beneficial as an attempt to to contribute to new values and societal changes. In this light,
the service falls closer to the field of Social Design and is not intending to be established
as a formal business model, not at this stage.
Moreover, it seeks to expose different professionals to this type of mixed and creative
methods approach that could enable further work that could ultimately benefit my own.
Ultimately, it also enables me to produce a product that is sellable with a potential to
generate revenue that could feed back into the project itself to keep it alive. This aspect
is very relevant in the sense of future developments which I’ll explain later.
12 Manufacturing details
Website: the purpose of the website is to be used as an online brochure (informational)
and to provide the online space for the community platform. The target audience of office
workers, creative teams, organizations and small businesses and startups are well-used
to engage with these style of websites and hence the decision to rely on this familiar yet
flexible format.
Lab Kit: the main element of the kit consists of the cardboard box that holds all of the
necessary elements such as tools and printed materials together. All elements avoid the
use of unnecessary colours and inks, therefore, the printing technique of choice was
screenprinting1 as it allows for flexible reproduction (in terms of media) and is also a
partly-artisanal method (supporting smaller businesses). The prototype model was
produced using screen printing in a domestic setting, without the use of photographic
emulsions and professional processes. Hence, the reproduction is not as sharp as it
would otherwise be*. For larger production numbers, a professional screen printing
service would be used and a local supplier has already been identified. Low production
numbers didn’t justify the use of their services as it is not cost or environmentally
effective in that way. The identified supplier (idressmyselff.co.uk), offers water-based,
non-toxic inks, recycled and organic surfaces and materials. The link has already been
established and future orders will be happily welcomed.
Across the elements of the kit, the use of full-color prints has been avoided unless crucial
for communication purposes. Brand colors appear mostly as surface options or rely on
the use of duotones (2 inks as opposed to 4). This direction to stick to less impactful
1
My initial intention was to produce the prints at the University facilities. However, after contacting the
people in charge of the workshops, it was implied that the process would be time-consuming and that costs
would have to be addressed as the University doesn’t openly enable students outside regular courses to use
some workshops and their materials. A brief introduction to what my project entailed and the time constraints
meant that it was not going to be likely to be completed on time. Therefore, cost restrictions in terms of
producing professional prints due to low numbers forced me to adopt the artisanal route with its limitations in
terms of my capabilities and costs associated.
13 printing techniques over unnecessary aesthetic details, is not seen to compromise
brand’s identity or communication. Sizes of paper resources have been optimized to
match ISO standards (relying on A4, A5 and A3 paper sizes) to maximise space and
avoid paper waste.
Materials used: recycled paper, unbleached paper, unbleached cardboard, organic
cotton, wood, wheat bran, birch and cork – they all rely on by-products, recycling or
renewable sources. The only elements that make use of plastics and metals are the
measuring cups that are meant to be kept as a gift and reminder of the activity and to be
re-used, and markers.
Disposable cutlery and bowls:
Through the use and provision of the Kit’s elements, there is an opportunity to convey
the main values and vision of the Brand in the objects themselves. Therefore, when
opting for ‘disposable’ elements such as bowls and spoons (that are a central to the
activity of eating) the choice was to opt for more sustainable and renewable materials. In
that sense, birch biodegradable spoons were chosen (from sustainable sources). These
are intended to be discarded with any possible rests of food or composted.
The protagonist of the activity, however, is the bowl, so choosing a re-usable yet
biodegradable bowl made the most sense. The advantage of the wheat-bran bowls2 is
that they are also non-toxic and edible. The bowl can be eaten once the food is finished
which implies the idea of circularity to the whole process. These bowls are manufactured
using a by-product of wheat production so it represents an opportunity to maximise
already exploited (yet renewable) resources. Waste management becomes a part that
has been designed into the service system.
Cost:
As the product exists in two forms: the Activity version is planned to be hired and paid for
on a case-by-case basis, whereas the Kit version is purchased on a fixed price. The
price setting for the Kit is based on the elements of the kit (its manufacturing and
materials cost), shipping costs and a cost for the knowledge and experienced used to
provide the service. It is evidently the lowest cost option and the most flexible product
version (in terms of implementation). On the other hand, the price of the Activity version
is set based on specific requirements of the client and would vary depending on the need
to include travelling costs, whether a report is needed or not, and whether the client is a
charity or other non-profit organization that would need a fee reduction.
Expansion:
The Club section of the service provides a platform upon which further products and
services can stem from. All participants and facilitators are prompted to visit this section
of the website and become a part of the community: ‘Join the club’. The Club represents
the virtual space/community that groups like-minded people who share similar views and
2
In the UK, wheat bran bowls can be acquired from: http://www.ecogreensupplies.co.uk/bran-bowls
14 values, as a way to help and support each other, foster further connections,
collaborations and future actions needed for the changes in behaviours to happen and to
be maintained.
This is to address one of the biggest concerns in relation to current services that exist in
the market that are not providing the post-purchase support part of the service
adequately (an insight that derived from the exploration that I carried out for Studio 1 by
reviewing current services of a similar nature).
Adopting new lifestyles is particularly challenging so further help in terms of information,
resources and social support are extremely necessary, otherwise they represent an
isolated product intended to generate profit but ultimately, not interested in generating
value or future brand loyalty by extending the relationship with the customer.
The vision is that the Club could grow and adapt to users needs, as well as serve as the
soil for other sub-products and services to be stemmed from. That could potentially
include other spaces, events, products or publications.
Measures of success:
The intention behind this product service is to see it grow and develop. For this to grow
as a business further work and support from other professionals would be necessary.
However, due to the educational aspect being the most prominent, it seeks to generate a
community of people with similar concerns and interests that can be grouped to support
and to enable them to support each other. The main measure of success of this
proposition is based on the number of people that effectively engage with the product
and join the online community platform (the Club). The way to assess this impact will be
by assessing the number of subscriptions (by analytical data provided with the website
platform). Additionally, the prominence of referrals is another way to assess its success,
so it will rely on obtaining testimonials and display case studies of positive engagement
and the value that the solution can bring to the businesses that have engaged with it.
Building brand loyalty and word of mouth is particularly relevant in this type of
endeavour.
15 References:
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Chiesura, A. & De Groot, R., (2003). Critical natural capital: A socio-cultural perspective.
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16 Appendix
From Studio 2 towards Masters
Or how this work fits into my practice and the course in general
On a personal note, the decision to turn the workshop into a product was based on the
fact that further testing and development needed to be carried out to perfect the method
to use in further research. Additionally, it represented the chance to test the
product/service model as a potential approach to use and re-formulate during the
Masters project (enables to test the method and the proposition model as a product).
Avoiding distractions on attempting to generate a separate outcome, it also allowed me
to maximise the time and energy to continue engaging with the literature that helps frame
my work within the current academic context and practices. It has helped me identify the
main theories and labels used to name specific approaches and directions of work. It has
also made clear, how my work and that of others, is touching many different areas of
work and study.
The question that arises is, however, how to name the type of practice that I’m
proposing. I have been playing with different terms so far, and still am, but ultimately,
what is clear is that the work itself can be placed within the work of other researchers
exploring different ways and methods through which to understand the challenges of
adopting sustainable dietary habits and the main directions in which to work. What this
shows is that the direction that I have taken is one that has been indicated by different
theories coming from different fields, and the value of my proposition is that it
amalgamates different elements into one single experiment. The cross-disciplinary
approach, as it has been aknowledged by differenet researchers, is the only possible
way to attack this problem. An emerging field of work within the design sphere – Food
Design – has been looking at the use of food in particular. Different definitions have been
made recently as to the different sub-categories that would fall under this umbrella. It is
possible that my practice at the moment can be situated within this arena, by designing
with and for food but from sustainability perspective in particular. However, it could well
be possible that my work falls within the broader field of social design (with a specific
interest interest in the combination of experiential and emotional elements), and the
broader spectrum of potential that it presents especially with the more general goal of
driving societal impacts from within the Design world. This broader approach is mostly
based on modes of working and thinking and entail bigger philosophical implications in
relation to the discussion around the Design Practice itself.
An overview of the literature review that I’ve been carrying out acts as an evidence of the
knowledge areas that this work relates to:
Next steps
Having achieved a wider and deeper understanding of the elements needed to address
when attempting to work towards behaviour change, it is now possible for me to
generate the framework from which my Masters project will build upon. Focusing the
work on developing the Workshop in more detail, enabled me to re-assess and establish
the main elements and key knowledge needed to conduct my future research using this
tool as my method. At present, my intention is to review this method – as a research tool,
to put it into practice right away. During the development of the work for this module,
most of the focus on the definition of the Workshop elements, and a Facilitator guide
(and script) in particular, was based on the potential to use it as my research tool. It
became clear quite early that the variations needed to turn this activity into a more public
and flexile approach (the product version) were small and very straightforward, so they
consisted an adaptation based on the more throrugh research tool version.
The current status of my Master's is focused on defining the group of people that will be
the base of my research. I have already identified a couple of spaces (co-working
spaces) and have made initial contacts. I now need to focus the work on this aspect and
continue my plan of starting the research phase within the next 2 or 3 weeks máximum,
to enable enough time for data collection and analysis. The work that I’ve developed
before and up to this point (while testing and assessing the workshop) has given me the
tools to understand the work, time and resources needed.
The Research Proposal that I’m currently working on for the RDM01 module is the
Statement of Intent for my Masters project. The overlapping nature of the work as I’ve
been carrying it out, is helping every other element within the course, to advance step by
step.
Here is a graphic visualization of the work that I’ve carried out so far and how it has
informed the decisions that I’ve taken during the course. It also makes explicit which
elements are being put into practice for each step of the process. I believe that making
this graphic public to other students could be beneficial in helping them understand the
reasons why the course has been structured the way it has, and how those can be
exploited and used to one’s own benefit (especially under the time-constraint challenge
that the Full time course represents).