Project is part of final year university design project, exploring how can the cross pollination of food and design help play a positive role in the education and bridging of cultures within the community of Edinburgh

This design was influenced by cultural probe results received from a prior research method. The method required Edinburgh based participants to create a rice dish recipe based on their cultural heritage. 

Research has shown that since 2016, over one third of the ethnic minority population have experienced discrimination in Scotland, and that it has become more frequent (The University of Edinburgh, 2019). The majority of those who said they had experienced discrimination felt this was because of their perceived ethnicity (University of Edinburgh, 2019). It is important to recognise that many people’s perception changes over time and that we cannot begin to guess or understand another person’s culture based on their perceived ethnicity. 

This design was created to explore, through food, how people judge others based on their perceived ethnicity, linking it to how we can often be found to judge others based on the food in their shopping trolley. Realistically, this tells you nothing about the person. It is important to raise awareness of this issue, as many acts of discrimination are based on one’s perceived ethnicity. 

The receipts are all from Edinburgh based shops, and only when you turn the receipt over can you see the watermark of the flag representing the culture or country the participant is from.