Agora
Exploring how people stay connected and maintain rituals during disruptive times
Thesis
Overview.
What happens to our rituals when we can no longer engage in them?
Rituals are the symbolic and intentional moments people create to connect with themselves, others, their surroundings, or something transcendent. But what happens to our rituals when we can no longer engage in them?
Through extensive research and speculative design, this project explored how communal food rituals, moments where people come together intentionally over food, can be preserved and reimagined during disruptive times. The final outcome, Agora, is a speculative tableware set designed to help people share food rituals across distance through tangible, synchronized interactions.
Context.
Role.
Design, Research, Branding
Skills.
Design Research, Surveys, Diary Study, Experience Design, Physical Design, Branding
Context.
Ritual Design, Thesis
Challenge.
How might we adapt communal food rituals to maintain their meaning in disruptive times?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people were separated from their traditional food rituals, limiting their ability to partake in them fully. Research revealed that communal food experiences were among the most valued and most disrupted rituals, and that many people felt dissatisfied with existing digital alternatives like video calls.
Rituals thrive on physical presence, shared actions, and sensory engagement—yet traditional virtual solutions fail to capture these elements. This project explored how people could stay connected through food, even when physically apart, and how design might bridge this gap in a way that felt meaningful and intuitive.
Process.
Understanding how rituals change when we can't be together.
To explore how communal food rituals adapt in disruptive times, I turned to the people who know best—the ones living through it. I conducted a survey with 155 participants, interviews with 8 participants, and a Thanksgiving diary study to understand the emotional highs, unexpected joys, and challenges of adapting food rituals during the pandemic.
Through storyboarding, prioritization activities, and affinity mapping, I identified a key insight: People deeply craved shared sensory moments—hearing the sizzle of a pan, clinking glasses, passing food. Yet, traditional virtual gatherings lacked that presence, often leaving people feeling disconnected rather than together.
Mapping communal food rituals to identify key moments of connection.
To understand the full experience of food rituals, I developed a Ritual Arc, mapping out how people engage with communal meals—from the anticipation of planning and preparation to the gathering itself and post-ritual reflection.
This revealed that different people valued different moments in the ritual process:
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Hosts saw preparation as part of the ritual experience itself.
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Guests valued the shared meal and conversation as the central moment.
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Food-focused participants were nostalgic for the tastes and traditions tied to their rituals.
This insight clarified the core challenge: Virtual tools helped people see each other but failed to recreate the physical, sensory, and interactive aspects that make communal food rituals meaningful.
Designing a tangible way to share food rituals beyond physical space.
I explored multiple concepts that could bring back the missing elements of communal food rituals—touch, timing, and shared actions. Early sketches included interactive recipe tools, sensory dining experiences, and augmented reality food-sharing concepts.
Through participant feedback, I found that many ideas captured parts of the ritual experience but failed to bridge the moment of eating itself. This insight led to a pivotal shift: rethinking tableware itself as a medium for remote interaction.
Focusing on synchronous, tangible, and sensory design principles, I refined my ideas into three key tableware objects that would facilitate shared presence, even across distance.
Bringing Agora to life through form and interaction.
With the concept defined, I moved into material exploration and form development. I experimented with sketches, digital modeling in Fusion360 and Keyshot, and physical prototypes to refine proportions, weight, and usability.
Through iteration and feedback, the final Agora dinnerware set emerged:
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A serving dish with a magnetic lid that can only be opened when someone else serves you from another location.
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A plate and cup set that visually represents a loved one’s placement, reinforcing a sense of shared space.
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A bottle with a magnetic cap that prevents self-serving, encouraging people to pour for each other.
To complement the product, I developed a visual identity and branding system that captured the warmth and intimacy of shared meals. Through color studies, typography exploration, and storytelling,
Reflection.
Speculative Dinnerware
Prototype for serving dish, plate and bottle
Sensory engagement strengthens ritual experiences
This inspired a focus on touch, movement, and shared physical cues.
User Journey
Visualization explaining user experience with the dinnerware
Lessons in designing for ritual and connection.
Agora starts a broader conversation around the dynamic between ritual and community during limiting times. This project deepened my understanding of how rituals shape human connection and the role design can play in maintaining meaningful shared experiences, even at a distance.
While speculative, Agora reinforced my belief that design isn’t just about solving problems—it’s about enriching the moments that matter.