Nourishing Care

Nourishing Care is a conceptual dining design developed collaboratively by a multidisciplinary team in response to the emotional and psychological challenges associated with eating alone — particularly emotional eating among international students. Stemming from shared personal experiences, the project explores how dining environments can foster emotional support, ritual, and a sense of presence through design.

Through tactile interaction, the surface of the dining setting gradually reveals hidden visual elements — symbols, companion-like illustrations, and warm colour palettes — activated by body heat. These subtle visual responses evoke the feeling of being accompanied, transforming solitary eating into a more mindful, comforting, and emotionally engaging ritual.

Rather than focusing on controlling behaviour, Nourishing Care proposes a gentle social intervention by embedding care into the dining experience itself. The design draws on principles from interior and textile design, environmental psychology, and color theory to create a multisensory, emotionally intelligent eating space. It encourages users to slow down, feel seen, and reconnect with the act of nourishing both body and mind.