First Published in
Over the past few years, food and eating have become hot topics for designers. Whether it be for social, ethical or environmental reasons; whether it be about scarcity or excess, aesthetic or ration, consumption or abstinence… Food has been, well, “deconstructed”.
crEATe is a timely overview of the state of our world’s pantry, researched and written by the Future Laboratory, and published by Gestalaten. Remarkably contemporary, crEATe speaks in that new-fangled food jargon: locovore, ethical eating, superfruit, food miles, organic, fair trade, slow food, urban farmers, gastro-thrifts, hyperfoods… It’s striking how just a few years ago, one might think that this book was written in a foreign language.
A holistic overview of the food industry, the book covers food preparation, sourcing, presentation, packaging and eating spaces. Providing enough information for the beginner to log in, there is also enough commentary and context for the more advanced foodie to expand. Not content with only describing today, the book looks to the future through the experimental work of vanguard designers such as Marti Guixé, Frank Tjepkema, Lucy Orta, Futurefarmers, Marije Vogelzang and more.
crEATe is a substantial hardcover display book that, besides the fabulous photos, demands to actually be read.