Designers design for people, they are the focus point of the design profession. Food is at the centre of people's needs. Food links everything and everyone, and it is the largest economic factor/sector in the world. We will always need food and because of this it will always be relevant.
But food is not just fuel for the body, it is also fundamental for shaping our identity, food connects people, food can bring comfort, confer status, and heal. Broadly speaking food is energy. The subject of food is increasingly urgent across the globe. There is so much happening in the world of food, extensive industrialisation, exploitation, animal welfare, the decimation of bee populations, obesity, overfishing etc., it is now the most schizophrenic of times when it comes to food, food production, perceptions of food, and consumption.
Parallel to the problems related to food production and consumption, the fundamental role of food connects it to so many other inspiring themes. Think about food and rituals, food and psychology, the healing powers of food, food and education, food and identity.
For the designer of the future and within design education there is much potential in this yet to be explored field of study. The interest in food as point of departure is quickly growing both within and outside of the academia. It is therefore important for us to efficiently bundle the expertise regarding this subject within a department and work to ensure that we can also communicate our accumulated knowledge and insights effectively with the world outside of the DAE.
I see a growing demand in my field for creative minds who can focus on different aspects within the theme of food. There is great scope for innovation, clarification, the critical examination of traditions, and for a more poetic or artistic approach to food.