KAI
interaction design | experience design | product design
Collaborator: Keio-NUS CUTE Center
Growing up, children get busy chasing their own lives. Parents are left wondering and worrying about how their child is doing, yet they hesitate to call, fearing that they might disturb their child. Is there another more pleasant way to help convey a parent's longing and a child's sincerity in engagement, in a conservative Asian household? 开 / kai which means open in Chinese, desires to help open up barriers in a parent and child’s communication, bringing them closer.
by Sen Fong Ling
"Have you eaten?" - an Asian parent's way of asking"how are you?"
Asian parents show their love and concern for their child in a more passive manner, sometimes it comes in the form of giving their child a bigger portion of food, or cutting fruits for their child. As parents see themselves as the provider in their child’s lives, food has naturally become the medium in which they show their care towards their child.
Often when a parent calls their child, they would begin the conversation by asking "have you eaten?". It is a subtle way of the parent to ask how their child is doing. With the opportunity that 'food' presents in the delicate and subtle communication of love between a parent and child, this project delves in to understand how 'food' could be used to assist with parent-child communication.
FINDINGS
What parents truly desired was for their child to occasionally check in with them, to assure them of the safety and well-being of their child.
To parents, a child's ability to indulge is comforting because it shows that the child is able to take care of themselves well.
THE CURRENT TREND
People like to curate their shared content on social media based on the positive and memorable aspects in their life, such as moments of pampering and indulgence.
Channeling the information that people already share on social media could be made much more meaningful if it were also shared to those who mattered as well.
THE TOTEM
Food covers are used to protect the food saved for those who cannot make it make in time for meals. A symbol of thoughtfulness and love.
What if the food cover was used as a totem to allow the child to share moments of their life with their family?
