Food is an important cultural artifact in the world. However, past research in design suggests that the discipline has mainly focused on food as a catalyst for creativity and imagination or as a tool to examine materialistic, economical, sensorial, and emotional connections. Studying the user-focused involvement in the creation of food artifacts and focusing on cultural, global, and historical aspects of that participation are important to address the gaps in the knowledge required to solve increasingly “wicked problems” (Buchanan, 1992; Rittel, 1971). To achieve this goal, Eat Your Heart Out implemented a comparative practice-based study of the Indian street foods in Mumbai and Phoenix to examine consumption, production, and distribution practices at both places. The methodological design was highly multi-disciplinary in nature and included rapid ethnographic assessment, interviews, visual research, and a generative method of co-creation.
The study revealed that street foods as cultural artifacts were deeply rooted in specific traditional values specific to the context, which significantly influenced personal and communal consumption, production, and distribution practices of Indian street foods in Mumbai and Phoenix. The values of standardization, formality, and higher food regulation practices limited the diversity and radically transformed the central values of Mumbai’s street foods when the foods re-territorialized in Phoenix. This resulted in lowering the consumption.
Eat Your Heart Out presents cultural and practical insights into the interactions between contexts, artifacts, practices, and participants. Eat Your Heart Out recommends new frameworks of correlation for various consumption and production practices and suggests how street food artifacts alter when they move across cultures. Such knowledge can be valuable for similar ethnic food culture studies and the development of innovative research tools incorporating transnational and multidisciplinary methods in the future.
On a broader scope, Eat Your Heart Out provides a unique opportunity to study a culture that has not been examined by scholars much in the past. It also focuses on gaining knowledge about ethnic culinary practices of Indian immigrants in the United States and encouraging enhanced cross-cultural acceptance.
Nostalgia marketing has become an increasingly popular tool for brands to attract consumers and offer products that take them back to a simpler time. This thesis aims to investigate how nostalgia marketing influences consumer perception and explore sustainable techniques that brands can adopt to effectively utilize nostalgia. The study consisted of a literature review on nostalgia marketing, an analysis of interview data with consumers, and a discussion of the implications of the findings as they apply to brands. The study utilized a sample of 11 participants with a wide range of ages and genders. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings provide insight into what elements of items people find nostalgic and suggest strategies for companies to appeal to consumers sustainably and ethically. The results of this study highlight the need for responsible and sustainable marketing practices to ensure a positive impact on society and the environment.
Releasing music 20 years ago looks a lot different than releasing music today, and it is still ever-changing. Artists can make music in their bedrooms and release it independently by simply uploading it online. These artists can use social media to market their music themselves. But with it being so easy for new and small artists to put out a song it begs the question: in this customer era of marketing, how can new and small artists use co-creational marketing strategies, such as themes of nostalgia and hidden messages, to differentiate themselves? This project seeks to answer that question. In this partial creative project and partial research project, I tasked myself with writing and producing a song myself, then using that work to test these different marketing strategies. I distributed a survey where participants would listen to the song and then decide which of two visuals they preferred for a cover, merchandise item, and social media feed. Each set of visuals had one with a nostalgic theme and one that utilized hidden messages. This project discusses the importance of social media in an independent artist’s career and marketing efforts, as well as discusses customer-centric marketing and co-creation marketing strategies through nostalgia and hidden messages. I found success in a nostalgic strategy and interest in hidden messages. This research sets the stage for testing similar strategies by collaborating with other artists and their work in the hopes of creating guidance for independent artists when marketing their releases.