This project explores how designing for human-food interaction (HFI) can preserve individual and collective knowledge about the food identities of Latin American migrants living in Malmö, Sweden. The project was carried out through a participatory design process, where specific needs were identified to preserve and track the evolution of culinary practices. Subsequently, an iterative co-design process took place to explore and prototype possible solutions. The project culminated with the creation of an app called Kipu, a platform designed by and for migrants to archive and share their knowledge and affects related to food. After reaching a final prototype and validating it with the participants, several insights relevant to interaction design were identified and analyzed. Some of these pointed to the significance of preserving cultural knowledge in distant identities, the relevance of the construction of platforms in a participatory design process, and the importance of considering the outcomes of a design process as socio-materiality instead of objects.

This thesis project covers a ten week exploration in Human Food Interaction. Employing a Research through Interaction Design methodology with a focus on Celebratory Technologies, this paper focuses on the research question, “How can celebratory technologies enhance social engagement between diners in commensality and raise awareness of the otherwise hidden process of cooking using auditory cues of food preparation?” A physical computing prototype using a Makey Makey Board with Processing is integrated into three user test sessions during dinner time to assess the effects of auditory cues of food preparation on the diners. The prototype is then evaluated using the qualities of Celebratory Technologies in addition to considerations of technological limitations and potential for future growth.

Building social networks plays a key role for international students as they undergo changes when moving to a new place. Different factors play a critical role in the experience of each individual. Creating a sense of connectedness to a community facilitates the assimilation of new and different cultures. Along with the emerging field of Human-Food Interaction, this study provides an early exploration of how shared experiences around the topic of food can facilitate interactions within social groups. A user-centered design approach helped to understand the needs of international students concerning their food practices. In turn, it led to the development of the prototype named Share my meal that facilitates interactions among international students through food, thus, opening up space for the discovery of new ingredients and culinary experiences as well as promoting socialization with other people. / Skapa ett socialt nätverk är viktigt för internationella studenter, eftersom när de flyttar till ett nytt land så genomgår de en stor förändring. Olika faktorer spelar en avgörande roll för varje individs upplevelse. Skapa en känsla av gemenskap och sammanhållning kan underlätta assimileringen av nya och olika kulturerna. Med det ökade intresset för området Human-Food Interaction, undersökte denna studie hur delade upplevelser av mat kan underlätta interaktionen inom sociala grupper. En användarcentrerad designstrategi användes för att förstå internationella studenters behov och vanor kring deras matkonsumtion. Följaktligen, ledde det till utvecklingen av prototypen Share my meal med syftet att genom mat, underlätta interaktionen mellan internationella studenter för att upptäckta av nya ingredienser och kulinariska upplevelser, men även främjar socialiseringen med andra människor.