Gut Feelings: An Edible Exploration of Participatory Design Language

Rodríguez Alfonzo, Josymar and Huybrechtsa, Liesbeth (2024) Gut Feelings: An Edible Exploration of Participatory Design Language. In: P/References of Design. Cumulus conference proceedings series, 1 . Cumulus Association, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest, Budapest, pp. 2169-2171. ISBN 978-952-7549-02-5

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Abstract

Grounded in Participatory Design (PD)'s evolving embrace of relational and processual approaches (Huybrechts et al., 2022; Huybrechts & Teli, 2020; Pihkala & Karasti, 2022), this session explores the intersection between bodily experiences, particularly related to eating and digestion, and the language we use in PD. The specificity, situatedness, materiality, relationality, and transformation capacity already embedded in eating make it a rich and provocative field for researchers and designers to engage with. The focus of this session is on how the acts of cooking, eating, and digesting together can inform and shape new terms and concepts - and, by extension, new practices - within the realm of PD. By incorporating the insights from philosopher Boris Groys (2022), anthropologist Annemarie Mol (2008, 2021), and sociologist Elspeth Probyn (2004, 2015), we aim to craft a collection of meanings that reflects the interplay between personal satisfaction, communal experiences, and the materiality of our designerly actions. Exploring bodily experiences and their intersection with language is critical to "thicken" (Haraway & Goodeve, 2000) our understanding and approach to Participatory Design. Sensitivities are born through the act of naming; "we cannot perceive that which has no name" (Sekiguchi, 2023). Therefore, we aim to develop a sensory-rich glossary, a collection of word meanings that captures the nuances and subtleties of our experiences when we dare think and feel with our guts (Escobar, 2016).

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