Design fiction as a medium for socio-technical transitions: Phygital food systems

The complexity of the current food system is rendering the Food Supply Chain (FSC) increasingly unsustainable, and the blended nature of physical and digital (phygital) food systems plays a central part in this complexity. To address and explore the future of food from a design perspective, this critical issue was investigated using a design fiction method in an industrial design studio project. Initially, a design fiction workshop was conducted, and the project was further developed through weekly critique sessions. Participant groups constructed future storyworlds in which they addressed the future of food by designing phygital systems, services, spaces and tools. All proposed projects necessitated future socio-technical transitions, with a focus on food production, consumption and waste management processes. Through these projects, the goal was to create a space for discussion of the implications of design for sustainability and design of food systems. Additionally, the design fiction methodology enabled an exploration of food design as an outcome and the lifestyles shaped around food-related products. By mapping out the systemic dimensions, design directions and ideas that could serve as topics for future research in food design were highlighted, with the attention given to the role of food in social life as examined through the future storyworlds.