Speculative design
Tracking down the potential of microalgae
Microalgae – isn't that just slimy coating on the aquarium? Many people have strong prejudices about new food sources and react quickly irritated when they find algae on their dinner plates. But what happens when future nutritional needs cannot be met with our current food supply and we must rely on new sources? There is a need to discuss microalgae, address concerns, uncover potential and spark curiosity about the foods and farming of the future.
Project vision
Detected problems
Findings
A method for promoting discourse on microalgae:
How can new food sources such as microalgae become established in Germany on the basis of design strategies?
How might we build emotional bridges and counter common reservations about food technology?
Microalgae production contradicts our image of natural food production and leads to reservations about microalgae as a nutritional source. Creating and debating tangible futures with algae reinterprets the relationship between science, technology and humans.
A public workshop was held in the heart of Munich in order to openly discuss the nutritional use of microalgae. Participants were invited to develop ideas and scenarios using the methods of speculative design. The website „schaumahlzukunft“ conducts a brief introduction into the topic and is used as reference and feedback tool.
Process highlights
Project team
My responsibilities
Methodology
Project plan
Solo project as an advanced designer
Research, Speculative Design
Speculative Design driven concept and workshop development
Master thesis: Two months of discovery and deep research, followed by interviews with experts and ideation, three sprints for the development of speculative scenarios, two weeks of workshop conception
Discovery and ideation
The conducted research discusses the acceptance of spirulina as a food source as well as potential design approaches. Five experts on the subjects of urban living, genomics, food culture, algae biotechnology, hospitality industry and science communication were interviewed. Their expertise shares one common aspect: They all operate at the interface between consumers and research. The reason for conducting these interviews was to gain substantial insights into various disciplines all of which are difficult to find through publications.
The key finding was that there is a lack of confidence in new technologies. People find it difficult to see added value of these technologies in modern nutrition. The interviews showed that a large part of the population is afraid of genomics, especially the CRISPR/Cas method. This also negatively influences the acceptance of microalgae: Their cultivation is closely interwoven with the concept of biotechnology. This builds up an inner resistance because it reminds people of the processing industry and technology – far removed from what we perceive as natural.
The idea was to publicly debate tangible futures about microalgae as food. What followed were three sprints leading to speculative concepts and fictitious products:
Idea Prioritisation
Based on the interviews, opportunity areas were identified and clustered at four different levels: social, design, systemic, and technological. Each cluster started with the question “How might we ...?”. The ideas from the speculative design sprints were evaluated by their reference to the following hypotheses:
Provocation
(Technology) communication must disrupt familiar images.
Egoism
New technologies must provide traceable benefits for the user.
Optimism
(Technology) communication must offer a perspective to optimism.
Reference
(Technology) communication must relate to everyday life situations.
Provotyping
Focusing on everyday culture led to creating a speculative future in 2033. Four major scenarios emerged from this: “The Green Base”, “Chemist's Care 'n' Share”, “Grow on the Go” and “The Poop Loop”.
Validation
Validation of the scenarios: The scenarios were evaluated by 10 users via questionnaires that were integrated into the website. The website itself served as an introduction to the topics of “nutrition” and “microalgae in human nutrition”. Particularly the scenario “The Green Base” was perceived to be realistic, hypothetically feasible and enriching. The written text was considered the most important design element to clarify the scenarios.
Validation of the workshop: All fifteen participants offered favorable feedback. They left the workshop with the conviction that “speculative design can create great ideas“. Both participating groups shared great interest in the topic and were willing to follow the issue of microalgae in nutrition closely.
Findings
Based on the findings from both research and user validations I was able to come up with an additional blog post that was published on a dialog platform focusing on new ideas of sustainable farming (progressive Agrarwende).
The workshop brought even more insight of people’s reaction towards algae as a food source. To attract additional public interest and make prototypes more tangible, the idea is to realize physical prototypes in an exhibition context.
We are not that far away from the futures the Schaumahl Zukunft project drew up. Algae products can already be bought in the supermarket. The question is: Is this what we want? What kind of future do we want to live in? The workshop demonstrated that speculative designs can inspire, raise awareness and stimulate discussions. For this purpose, more platforms and more tangible visions such as Schaumahl Zukunft provided are needed.
Speculative Design
Tracking down the potential of microalgae
Microalgae – isn't that just slimy coating on the aquarium? Many people have strong prejudices about new food sources and react quickly irritated when they find algae on their dinner plates. But what happens when future nutritional needs cannot be met with our current food supply and we must rely on new sources? There is a need to discuss microalgae, address concerns, uncover potential and spark curiosity about the foods and farming of the future.
Project vision
A method for promoting discourse on microalgae:
How can new food sources such as microalgae become established in Germany on the basis of design strategies?
How might we build emotional bridges and counter common reservations about food technology?
Detected problems
Microalgae production contradicts our image of natural food production and leads to reservations about microalgae as a nutritional source. Creating and debating tangible futures with algae reinterprets the relationship between science, technology and humans.
Findings
A public workshop was held in the heart of Munich in order to openly discuss the nutritional use of microalgae. Participants were invited to develop ideas and scenarios using the methods of speculative design. The website „schaumahlzukunft“ conducts a brief introduction into the topic and is used as reference and feedback tool.
Process highlights
Project team
Solo project as an advanced designer
My responsibilities
Research, Speculative Design
Methodology
Speculative Design driven concept and workshop development
Project plan
Master thesis: Two months of discovery and deep research, followed by interviews with experts and ideation, three sprints for the development of speculative scenarios, two weeks of workshop conception
Discovery and ideation
The conducted research discusses the acceptance of spirulina as a food source as well as potential design approaches. Five experts on the subjects of urban living, genomics, food culture, algae biotechnology, hospitality industry and science communication were interviewed. Their expertise shares one common aspect: They all operate at the interface between consumers and research. The reason for conducting these interviews was to gain substantial insights into various disciplines all of which are difficult to find through publications.
The key finding was that there is a lack of confidence in new technologies. People find it difficult to see added value of these technologies in modern nutrition. The interviews showed that a large part of the population is afraid of genomics, especially the CRISPR/Cas method. This also negatively influences the acceptance of microalgae: Their cultivation is closely interwoven with the concept of biotechnology. This builds up an inner resistance because it reminds people of the processing industry and technology – far removed from what we perceive as natural.
The idea was to publicly debate tangible futures about microalgae as food. What followed were three sprints leading to speculative concepts and fictitious products:
Idea Prioritisation
Based on the interviews, opportunity areas were identified and clustered at four different levels: social, design, systemic, and technological. Each cluster started with the question “How might we ...?”. The ideas from the speculative design sprints were evaluated by their reference to the following hypotheses:
Provocation
(Technology) communication must disrupt familiar images.
Egoism
New technologies must provide traceable benefits for the user.
Optimism
(Technology) communication must offer a perspective to optimism.
Reference
(Technology) communication must relate to everyday life situations.
Provotyping
Focusing on everyday culture led to creating a speculative future in 2033. Four major scenarios emerged from this: “The Green Base”, “Chemist's Care 'n' Share”, “Grow on the Go” and “The Poop Loop”.
Validation
Validation of the scenarios: The scenarios were evaluated by 10 users via questionnaires that were integrated into the website. The website itself served as an introduction to the topics of “nutrition” and “microalgae in human nutrition”. Particularly the scenario “The Green Base” was perceived to be realistic, hypothetically feasible and enriching. The written text was considered the most important design element to clarify the scenarios.
Validation of the workshop: All fifteen participants offered favorable feedback. They left the workshop with the conviction that “speculative design can create great ideas“. Both participating groups shared great interest in the topic and were willing to follow the issue of microalgae in nutrition closely.
Findings
Based on the findings from both research and user validations I was able to come up with an additional blog post that was published on a dialog platform focusing on new ideas of sustainable farming (progressive Agrarwende).
The workshop brought even more insight of people’s reaction towards algae as a food source. To attract additional public interest and make prototypes more tangible, the idea is to realize physical prototypes in an exhibition context.