Arts Thread

Bloom, a pliable food vessel, is the design outcome of a research that explored how to facilitate positive emotional attachment to home tableware through a visual creative and tactile experience. This research was inspired by how unsustainable it is for corporations to continually encourage mass consumption. An inductive analysis of our day-to-day home dining experiences was conducted and it highlighted that the daily repeated interactions between people and tableware can become mundane, leading to higher potentials of a negative experience. Negative experiences make it easier for people to giveaway, or discard products. Therefore, this project seeked to use designing for emotions as a tool for sustainability to prolong the lifespan of tableware. Bloom comes in two sizes: 10.6 inches and 7 inches. It is made of silicone and aluminium so that it is pliable yet structurally stable to encourage creativity and discoverability during its use. It also allows users to bend it into their desired shape depending on the food prepared. The variety of bends can create multiple aesthetic forms and each form will not necessarily be like the next. An explorative iterative design process was conducted to determine a material that is pliable, structurally stable and food-safe.Various vessel enclosure methods and material combinations were explored. However, the chosen combinations were based upon the product’s usability, longevity, and the number of forms users could create.