Title: Nostalgia and co-creation

Authors: Renu Zunjarwad

Addresses: Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, Arizona State University, 1367 Hunter Circle, Naperville, IL, 60540, USA

Abstract: The paper proposes a creative research strategy combining co-creation and follow-up interviews to operationalise nostalgia effectively. The author suggests that employing co-creation to gain an in-depth structured understanding of the users' thinking early in the design process can drive meaningful and value-driven innovation. To establish this methodological recommendation, the author employed an example of Mumbai's street foods as a cultural artefact and examined consumption, production, and distribution practices by comparing the cities of Mumbai, India, and Phoenix, US. A rigorous qualitative analysis and overall research strategy and approach emphasise the significance of focusing on the cultural networks of an artefact in design research. The research concludes that co-creation is a powerful technique to explore difficult-to-observe concepts like trust, nostalgia, and social anxiety. It can deliver impactful insights to build user-centric experiences, products, and services when implemented well.

Keywords: nostalgia; co-creation; foods as design artefacts; foundational research; early-stage product strategy; participatory design research; interviews; creative design research.

DOI: 10.1504/JDR.2023.133265

Journal of Design Research, 2023 Vol.21 No.1, pp.62 - 78

Accepted: 13 Apr 2023
Published online: 04 Sep 2023 *

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