Edible pedagogies: Designing with food, memory and emotion in the Bagel Studio

Abstract

This article explores how food-making can support emotional, sensory and reflective learning in design education. Using a 15-week undergraduate and graduate industrial design studio as a case study, the project engaged 23 students in baking bagels to examine intersections of food, memory and play. Drawing from experiential, kinaesthetic and ludic learning, the study combined studio observations, process books, reflective essays, structured visual documentation and an end-of-semester survey ( n = 18). Findings show that food-making fostered emotional engagement, empathy and understanding of iteration as both design and reflection. Students translated taste, aroma, texture and culinary processes into vessels, packaging, interaction sequences and rituals of sharing. Positioned alongside prior food-based design education literature, this article contributes a multimodal account of how movement between culinary practice and experience-oriented design outcomes can support emotional memory, sensory reflection, purposeful play and inclusive participation.