posted on 2019-04-11, 08:00authored byRTD ConferenceRTD Conference, Doenja Oogjes, Ron Wakkary, Miguel Bruns Alonso
In this paper we present the design fiction Lyssna, a diegetic prototype in the form of a hearing aid for your refrigerator, that aims to reintegrate food waste back into cooking. Preventing food waste has been addressed mainly by promoting sustainable behavior through design. However, there is little evidence supporting that these changes last. Furthermore, human behavior concerning food waste is not solely the outcome of deliberate decisions based on awareness and efficiency. In this paper we elaborate on our studies of everyday food practices, in which we in part continue with thing-centered approaches. Rather than designing for a change in human behaviour, we aim to understand the experience of the food in the dynamics of everyday food practices through the things we design. Within our studies, however, we are not solely interested in the human experience nor solely in the experience of the thing. Rather we are looking to uncover the relations between both and how this understanding can lead to designing for more sustainable relationships with food. We present and reflect on three probe-studies that have shaped and supported our stance. We conclude with how we see ontological perspectives as a design strategy, illustrated by our design fiction, Lyssna.