Designing a Bento Box Future: Embracing Societal Well-being and Mindful Creativity

Design Dialogue: Exploring the Bento Box Framework for Future Creativity

Imagine this: two designers, one of Indian and the other of Japanese origin, meeting in a crowded San Francisco restaurant during lunch break for a heart-to-heart conversation. They cover a broad range of topics that are on the top of their mind such as the state of the world today, radical shifts in the marketplace and workplace, and emerging opportunities for designers in the post-Covid and post-AI future.

In this article, I introduce the metaphor of a Bento Box to describe a new framework for design that has emerged in my imagination as a result of a conversation I had with Norio Fujikawa, a curious, sensitive, and creative designer friend whom I have known for over thirty years. To begin with, I’ll delve into why the metaphor of a Bento Box resonated with me as I reflected on our conversation and its implications for the future of design.

Embracing the Bento Box Philosophy: A Path to Reimagining Design and Society

In an article titled “We’re Bad at Knowing What’s in Our Self-Interest. Here’s How a Bento Box Can Help,” featured in the Time Magazine of November 5th, 2019, Yancey Strickler, the author of This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World and the Co-founder and former CEO of Kickstarter explains,

“The original bento box honors a Japanese eating philosophy called hara hachi bu, which says the goal of a meal is to be 80% full. That way you’re still hungry for tomorrow. By design, the bento ensures a balanced meal and balanced life.”

I am learning that a lot of people I have met in the course of my travels, community dialogues, and online conversations are feeling burned out from moving fast and seeking more. They are drawn to an alternate way of living that is best represented by the essence of a Bento Box: the Japanese values of beauty, balance, and simplicity.

The real question to be addressed is not how designers can get back to selling more of what we have been selling and get paid the same or more. Instead, we need to think more about how we can recognize and cater to what the world needs today using the knowledge, wisdom, and core competencies we have. In this article, I propose that designers transition from the metaphor of the Sandbox, which has long guided our work, to the metaphor of the Bento Box.

The Sandbox metaphor represents a conceptual space for free play, risk-taking, and creative expression with an implied promise of breakthrough innovation as an outcome. While this metaphor may still have a place in design, the pressing problems in the real world call for a revised approach to design and a new metaphor to guide our mental framework.

Transitioning from the Sandbox metaphor to the simplicity and balance symbolized by the Bento Box is more suitable for addressing contemporary challenges. This shift is evident as we seek a more effective approach to addressing societal challenges. It becomes apparent that established institutions, tools, and methods are failing to solve foundational problems faced by society today. Despite promises of a better future from innovators, politicians, and religious leaders, there is an alarming increase in disparity, violence, and suffering worldwide. Moreover, the growth of misinformation persists alongside advancements in connectivity, leading to an erosion of trust and compassion. In the face of such complexity, the Bento Box metaphor offers a simplified understanding and moderation of expectations, fostering a hunger for progress while addressing 80% of our needs.

Championing Change: The Evolution of Design Practice and the Call for Socially Conscious Creativity

In 1999, when Dr. Elizabeth B. N. Sanders, Marty Gage, Kevin Schmidt, and I deliberated for months about the future of design and our role in it, we decided to be bold in visioning and articulating a “Post Design Manifesto”. Dr. Liz Sanders was already recognized worldwide for introducing knowledge and methods from social sciences to the field of design and for her original contribution as a pioneer of participatory design practice. Working under her guidance, we mobilized our peers in the design industry to grow consciousness in the design industry that the old practice of prescriptive, egocentric, design process had outlived its relevance and that the market needed a new approach that was participatory and mindful of how people, cultures, and societies live and evolve. The evolution of design practice over the past 25 years is testimony to the relevance of the Post Design Manifesto.

During our conversation, I proposed to Norio that designers who share a feeling of restlessness about the changes in the world today should engage in rigorous conversations about the nature of the change necessary in the practice of design, craft a vision, and introduce it into the imagination of the global design community.

During our discussion, the initial ideas about the contours of change proposed for envisioning a new approach to design in the current context were explored.

• Socially conscious, participatory, and mindful designers may recognize that to have the most impact on shaping the future, it is important to focus on influencing social imagination. (Course Sidekick in its Module 1: Foundations of Sociology defines Sociological imagination as a term used in the field of sociology to describe a framework for understanding social reality that places personal experiences within a broader social and historical context.)
• To influence social imagination, we need to co-imagine narratives of the future that hold the well-being of humanity and ecology at the center.
• Designers, having the opportunity to serve as facilitators of such narratives, will conceptualize and visualize compelling future scenarios (for example: Future scenarios in the post-Covid and post-AI future) and collaborate with various stakeholders (e.g., tech innovators, community organizations, government, media, everyday people, etc.) to inspire the creation of an ecology of creativity.

During our conversation, I identified two problem areas that require urgent attention: Firstly, amidst the struggles for survival during the pandemic, the essential lessons of caring and sharing are rapidly fading away. Secondly, the hurried development of AI-powered products has pushed mindfulness in design to the sidelines, resulting in insufficient consideration of the future consequences of technological decisions by product creators.

Fostering Collaboration: Pioneering a New Era of Mindful Design

There is an opportunity for sociologically and ecologically mindful technologists, designers, and social scientists to collaborate in creating a new practice of envisioning the future and designing guardrails for mindful design.

In conclusion, the metaphor of the Bento Box offers a compelling framework for reimagining our practice of design in a rapidly changing world. Just as the traditional Japanese philosophy behind the Bento Box emphasizes balance, beauty, and simplicity in nourishment, so too can we embrace these principles to address the complex challenges facing society today.

Moving away from the outdated Sandbox metaphor, which promotes free play and risk-taking without sufficient regard for real-world consequences, the Bento Box encourages a more mindful and socially conscious approach to our creativity. By focusing on serving 80% of our needs while keeping us hungry for continuous improvement, the Bento Box philosophy inspires us to prioritize holistic solutions that benefit both individuals and communities.

Moreover, as we navigate the post-Covid and post-AI landscape, there is a pressing need for collaboration among technologists, designers, and social scientists to ensure that innovation is guided by empathy, sustainability, and foresight. By championing change and fostering a new era of mindful design, we can collectively shape a future that prioritizes the well-being of humanity and the planet. Through co-imagination and collaboration, we can build a more equitable, resilient, and harmonious world for generations to come.