YUAN
DESIGN
White Burger
Fast food has its delicacy and people's obsession with its subjective happiness. It is difficult for people to refuse the delicacy of fast food. Our white burgers are using speculative design and service design thinking to propose a more inclined fast food industry in 2030. In order to improve people’s awareness of healthy eating, the group design this time tends to be more creative, stimulating thinking rather than changing people’s decisions.
Changes in the environment may have a significant impact on healthy lifestyles and balanced diets (including popular choices, policies, business environment, etc.), but the most important reason is that only when the parties are aware that personal attitudes and personal choices can affect their health, In order to fundamentally solve the health problem. In terms of obesity and other neglected health issues, as service designers, we still have the responsibility to arouse public health awareness through design.
Content overview
Speculative design & Creative design & Service design
Date
2020/02-2020/03
If fast food packaging and fast food are standardized as pure white, will it affect the fast food consumption habits of British children and teenagers?
According to a report of "Proactively Addressing Obesity", it emphasizes that the British government is very concerned about the increase in the obesity rate of the population. In another British government publication on childhood obesity (2019), nearly one-fifth of children were overweight or obese when they entered primary school. By the time they entered secondary school, this rose to a third. It is estimated that by 2020, half of children in the UK will be overweight or obese
Our design team Biteback 2030 (UK) cooperates. Biteback 2030 is a new charity that aims to address childhood obesity in the UK. This project aims to use speculative thinking to speculate on a more desirable future in the UK in the next ten years.
According to the official release of the British government science, the future scenario 1 shown in 2050 (a total of 4 scenarios), we think it presents and predicts the future possibilities very well. For example, individuals begin to pay attention to the future and long-term challenges brought about by climate change, the decline of natural resources, and the aging of the population; consumers assume the responsibility to achieve change through action. For companies, sustainability and long-term feedback have become synonymous with profitability.
For me, the comprehensive application of speculative design design methods and service thinking is a brand new exploration, and design a more desirable and suitable future, rather than an achievable, sounding reasonable or possible future.
Methodology
What is speculative design? Speculative design is essentially questioning. Therefore, their purpose is not to propose implementable product solutions, nor to answer the questions they raise, but to be like a mirror, reflecting the role we may play in each of our lives, allowing people to think and discuss (James O. Grid, RCA, 2012)
Fast food is becoming more and more popular because of its taste, affordable prices and convenient places. Fast food giants continue to improve their products to make them look more attractive and promote their food ads everywhere to make more profits. Vegetarian fast food is no longer new to many fast food fans who want to have a healthier eating habits. We chose one of the five senses, the visual sense, we should be the visible driving factor for people to buy fast food. White burgers are appearing in our minds.
Why is it white? We have been questioned many times. The first reason is that we believe that in 2030, all fast food chains will implement brand standardization. Fast food decolorization can be considered an extreme de-branding method that can reduce its appeal to consumers in this chaotic advertising environment. At the same time, white has an unpleasant plastic feel when applied to food (after research and testing). On the other hand, white burgers can arouse public curiosity. The white burger sounds very ridiculous and incredible. How about becoming a reality in 2030? If the government takes legislative actions to regulate fast food packaging or even enforce food, what are the regulations?
Storyboard
Our storyboard objects are children, teenagers, and even adults interacting with our concepts. The storyboard shows Alex's precise experience of buying white burgers in fast food chains in 2030. There are no logos and color advertisements; the new white fast food policy emphasizes the necessity of de-branding and the danger of obesity; fast food companies use mini nutrition information labels to try to hide the true content of calories. This story makes us rethink whether this buying experience of fast food chains will become a reality in 2030? Do people think that the unconscious consumption of vegetarian food by fast food chains is a healthier diet choice? Without compulsory measures, will the implementation of the white fast food policy change the choices of young people?
Outputs
Prototyping is the most interesting part of the design process. Our team continues to use paper prototyping to build the McDonald’s store of the future. These materials, white cardboard, are fully in line with our concept, full of plastic feel, and may prevent people from approaching white burgers. As I mentioned earlier, the skill of storytelling is crucial. We arranged the experience sequence from watching the introduction video (from left to right) to passing through the unbranded advertising wall and then standing in front of the self-service cashier. We also want our audience to interact with the project better, instead of just listening to us, so we designed a "digital notice" to showcase the white food policy by using a projector and acrylic board. A real white burger (a fresh burger coated with white syrup), with a mouth-watering smell, can help immerse yourself in the McDonald’s environment of the future. The tiny food nutrition label on the pad can only be read through a magnifying glass.
During the demonstration, we invited more than ten people to try the experience of "buying" white burgers. As we expected, our audience was excited and curious when they saw the real edible white burger, and their attitude eventually changed from disgust and disappointment to positive. Subsequently, we interviewed the audience about their attitudes towards white fast food and asked them to think about the impact of the white fast food policy. From the results, many of our viewers, including ourselves, are aware of the health effects of excessive use of fast food on us and our children and grandchildren. However, more than 80% of people will not give up fast food. Most people say that eating fast food is considered happiness, and they have the right to enjoy instant happiness. Participants reported that fast food will definitely not affect their health absolutely, depending on the amount and frequency of consumption. Does this mean that adults are confident to control the intake of fast food? If so, what about teenagers and children?
" White food is strange, people should enjoy colorful food."
"White burgers look like poisonous, I won't buy them."
"Some people may eat it to satisfy their curiosity."
Feedback
In testing and feasibility, from the customer's point of view, white fast food and unbranded fast food policies will make people hate fast food, but the inhibition will only last for a short time, and people will get used to it anyway. Because people really like the feel of fast food, even though we know it is called "junk food". From the perspective of the food industry, fast food chains are not difficult to find a way out. For example, despite the presence or absence of a brand policy, the fast food industry will still have the opportunity to cleverly use marketing strategies to attract consumers.
