Food design – what is it and why is it worth knowing?

Do you enjoy exploring the ins and outs of product design? Are you interested in graphic, taste, and visual design topics? Or do you just love good food and consciously approach this topic? If the answer to any of these questions is "yes", then food design is for you!

You may ask: but how is it? Why do I need all this food design and knowing what it is?

The answer is simple: knowing about the existence of this discipline or phenomenon, you will be able to better find yourself in it.

I am a big fan of practice, so I will tell you a short story from my life related specifically to the topic of food Design.

After finishing my first courses (journalism with a specialty: promotion and advertising), my first internships and work experience, I knew one thing-my professional path would definitely be connected with food. I liked to see beautiful photos or commercials with food in the title role, and I closely followed the marketing efforts of brands related to this topic.

I'm just wondering what field of study to take to supplement my knowledge in this area. I was planning to go abroad because in many Western countries I found universities offering training in food design, but just in the world I couldn't afford it, and I wasn't brave enough to take the risk. While living in Poznań at the time, I accidentally stumbled upon a private university in Warsaw,where a new major in design was available. It was food design with a very simplified name: design for gastronomy.

When I decided to go to college, my friends grabbed their heads and said that I had come up with a direction that was not quite right, and I should, like everyone else, go to a master's degree in journalism. And what I always liked about challenges, I found out that one day I died and went to a master's degree instead ... another bachelor's degree. This time 3.5 years.

Why do I mention this? Because everyone, like one husband, when they heard: "specialty food design", asked if I went to a catering school and was going to take up cooking professionally (at that time, I also had a blog about food, so it was easy to connect the dots together). When I heard the same question again, an inner voice woke up in my head, saying: "Hello, FOOD DESIGN is much more than food and cooking! This is such a capacious and interesting question, and at the same time so unknown. This will need to be changed in the future".

In college, I had classes in the kitchen with well-known and respected chefs, as well as drawing, photography, computer graphics, and even food technology, dietetics, or creating restaurant technology projects. Because I studied the food design question so holistically, I dared to realize my dream and put everything on the same map. So a creative agency from the kitchen, a studio from the kitchen was created, and years later-a place where you read this text, namely the Food and Design platform.

So let's start with the basics... what is food design?

There are many definitions, but my favorites are three that show the theme of food design - that is, food-related design-in three different contexts:

• Food Design: Steps to create a new food product that defines its ingredients, recipe, preparation, packaging, presentation, storage instructions, and serving instructions. Dr Rick Schifferstein (Department of Design, University of Delft in the Netherlands):

• Food design as a combination of food and design. It is the design process that leads to innovation in products, services, or systems for food and nutrition products. It begins with production, supply, maintenance and transportation and ends with preparation, presentation, consumption and disposal. Dr Francesca Zampollo (International Food Design Society)

• Food Design as part of a larger discipline-Eating Design. Food Design is a real and literal project in which food, i.e. matter, is developed. This may relate to nutrition, as well as ideology or the fight against waste and food waste. Marije Vogelzang (Studio Marije Vogelzang)

We have a theory. After reading the three definitions, you should draw one significant conclusion: everything related to the design of both food and any other elements indirectly related to food falls under the discipline called food design.

Translating this into a language that is understandable to people associated with the industry: if you understand the essence of food-related Design, the more consistent a concept or design you can develop.. And if the concept is consistent, then communication will be well thought out = your project will be successful. Simple, isn't it?

If, in turn, you are a person completely unrelated to the industry and you just like good food and the food theme, food design is also the theme for you. Let me introduce some of its main categories, which to some extent affect the many planes of life of each of us:

Food Design Categories

• Food Product Design - product design
• Design For Food-design " for food”
• Design With Food - design using food
• Food Space Design-space design
• Eating Design-designing the "experience" of food
• Food Service Design-developing a way to serve and serve food/dishes
• Critical Food Design – design krytyczny

I will discuss all the above categories in turn in separate texts, because these are really broad topics. Today I will give you a brief overview.

We all eat in restaurants, so it will be easiest for me to briefly discuss the three categories in this example: Food Space Design, Eating Design и Food Service Design.

It's not enough to just open a restaurant these days. In order for a gastronomic concept to truly become popular and win the hearts of guests, it must be well designed. And this is not only for the interior, but also for service, menu, ergonomics in the kitchen or marketing communications. Each piece of the puzzle must match.

Food Space Design, Eating Design oraz Food Service Design

You probably know a lot of places that serve really good food, which, however, has never gained popularity. You are also, of course, familiar with these famous and beleaguered establishments, where the food is – to put it mildly-rather mediocre. I'll give myself a hand that the latter have beautifully and interestingly designed interiors, the menu cards match the whole look of the establishment, and the dishes, and even the plates or boards on which they are served, also match the whole concept. Simply put: everything was cohesive – and that's the whole point.

What elements in a restaurant should you think about in the context of design?

• Interior. Corresponds to the vision of the establishment-both in terms of the type of food and the target audience that you want to place in it;

• Menu Design. Matches the interior and matches the brandbook (if you don't have a brandbook, i.e. character books for the logo you're using, you should / should catch up);

• Meals are served. Not only is it delicious, but it's also presented in a way that encourages food and-importantly these days-is immortalized in the photo;

• Tableware-what dishes are served in and on. Plates or boards? It's up to you to decide, but remember that the plates must match the dishes you serve. People eat with their eyes. Even the most delicious dish served on an ugly platter will lose its appeal, and people will not want to pay more money for it. They will also have no desire to take a photo of it, and in the Internet age, uploading a photo to social media is one of the most effective forms of restaurant promotion.;

• Service – a way to communicate with guests. Each type of room has its own rights. A different way of communicating is needed in fine dining restaurants, and another is in a pub or bistro. However, the way the service talks to guests is of the utmost importance;

• Dress code. Always neat and appropriate to the room and its creative concept;
• Marketing communications. Visually reflecting what you want to convey on the spot, in the room. Nowadays, people make purchasing decisions, and in the case of restaurants, location decisions, mostly based on what they see online.

In conclusion

These are just a few very simplified sub-items, but I hope that I have managed to convey at least a little of the essence of Food Design to you. If you approach a business or any food-related task as a project consisting of a dozen elements that need to be combined into a single whole, success is at stake!

Thank you for coming. In the meantime, good luck!

Photo source: epoch restaurant, Photo. Agency from the kitchen