Extreme Connoisseur or Ethical Eater?

Spatial design / Product design

Packed to the core with research, crEATe. Eating, Design and Future Food investivates recent trends and visual developments in and around food; 'the one thing it is not is a cookbook'.

By Jeanne Tan /asdf 18-12-2008

What kind of eater are you? A Zeno Youth, Extreme Connoisseur, Food Thrift Armchair explorer, Ethical Eater or Cultural Chaser?

As outlined in the new book crEATe. Eating, Design and Future Food, published by Gestalten, today's eaters feast according to an increasingly "complex set of views, attitudes and aesthetic cues that are difficult to define". Based upon research by trend analysts from the London firm The Future Laboratory, crEATe is a sourcebook that investigates recent trends and visual developments in and around food. Through a design and conceptual perspective, the book examines everything from the way we eat, the interiors and furniture of innovative restaurants and shops, industrial design, graphic design and the packaging of food to branding and consumerism to the use of food as a material. The food journey begins with Food Activists followed by Wholehearted, Smart Food, Packaging, Food Spaces, Typologies. By dissecting the current trends in the food world, the book concludes with Future Solutions which highlights emerging trends to paint a picture of how the future of food will look and how we - as designers and eaters - can respond to it.

crEATe presents innovative examples and research that outlines an often offbeat approach to food, and questions how we eat it. Not only about eating, food is presented here "from a broader design perspective that addresses and questions issues of consciousness, traditionalism, functionality, recreation, the revival of craftsmanship and commercialisation". Highlights include Packaging (or lack of) and its visuals and messages (Soviet: Strong graphics with a nostalgic edge have no-nonsense appeal) and typologies (Extreme Connoisseur: the more obscure the ingredients, the more complex the cooking process, the more fulfilling the dining experience) and the cunning tactics of Smart Food.

Dutch designers have been busy in the field of food and design for many years now, in particular Marije Vogelzang who is featured as a definite Food Activist. Vogelzang's eight points which she uses to describe her work deconstructs the senses and act of eating to create reconnection with what we put in our bodies. The details of the Tjep.-designed interiors featured in Food Spaces (Praq & Pluk) view eating and ingredients in a different light. Seen in Future Solutions, Witches Kitchen by Tord Boontje puts the fantasy/fairy tale back into the kitchen. Other Dutch designers featured include Simone Kroon, Agata Jaworska, Kiki van Eijk, Scholten & Baijings and Drift Design.

So what does the future look like? Well, we're likely to deepen our quest for authenticity (Granny Mode), embrace the social dining experience (Conviviality), explore futuristic innovations (Synth Culture) or simply return back to basics (Into the Raw and Healthy Eating). Armed with this guide, the future of food looks slightly scary and complex but at the same time mouthwateringly exciting and inspiring.

Editors: Chris Sanderson, Martin Raymond, R. Klanten, S. Ehmann, S. Moreno
Language: English
Price: € 44,00 / $ 65,00 / £ 36,00
Format: 24 x 28 cm
Features: 216 pages, full colour, hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-89955-231-7

Also check out the Gestalten podcast with Marije Vogelzang.