What we crave now is a sign of how we will re-engage
The massive disruption we are seeing now across industries will force many to refocus on experience or convenience. What we crave — as much is not available — will give us good data around what to design around.
No industry or work type has been left untouched by the pandemic and subsequent shut-down. We are all either on pause, in limbo, in-flux or maybe even, sadly, a free-fall.
Some people, businesses and industries are more impacted than others. Retail, Food & Beverage, Travel, etc. They’re all facing an uncertain and modified future.
The restart, recovery and regeneration will be patchy and uneven. I believe we may have some insight into patterns that will play out — we’ve already seen signals of it in the pre-covid but highly disrupted world. Restaurants are a great example of this.
I want to ask you, what do you miss? What do you crave or find yourself saying you are sorry that you didn’t value it more when it was freely available? After a short term craving fix, I bet its not the cheap takeaway, the standardised service models or the crowded and disorganised food courts. My bet is for many of us, it’s the experiences — the unique and shared moments.
The great restaurant experiences aren’t actually about us — they are about the stage, the actors the directors of the experience. We feel greatly connected to a place when we are part of their show. We sit in their space (an intimate dining setting that has character) and we are part of their family. We see and hear how they work together and treat us, we get to sample their special recipes or maybe even watch them prepare our meals. While we are there we feel a sense of intimacy and anticipation — we’re ok with waiting and perhaps feel free to order another bottle of wine with our new friends. We feel it when we the staff want to be there, when they love their craft and their place.
Yes we are also drawn towards convenience or sometimes more primeval cravings for fatty or sugary foods. But the more spiritual cravings are not built on this.
The experiences we crave now should be captured and described in some detail — they will give us the data we need to design the new world and preserve what we value most from the old. The convenience and simple offerings have their place and will thrive in a new world of ‘frugalism’— but there is still room for rich experiences and special moments. We must create ‘the space’ for them because they are part of what makes us a society.
So what might support these intimate and memorable moments? That is the work to be done by the experience designers, the social experimenters, the pioneers and the passionates. However, many already know - they’ve been doing it for years! They are the local butcher who knows your name and anticipates your order, the cafe barista that knows that look on your face and that you aren’t up for your usual chat today, the hyper-local market where you see the origins and the craft of the product, or, as I’ve outlined, the well curated and orchestrated food experience. In recent years, these have sometimes been augmented with cooking classes, or special produce menus, insider nights, or as has been the case forever, the hosts who are naturals at making us feel special.
The offerings that are neither easy or memorable are at risk of never coming back. Great experiences are still craved and they will be the first ones we will race to when we can again.
Leigh Whittaker
Global Strategy Director. Freestate
Transformational Strategist / Experience Designer / Ambassador for seeing new possibilities / Explorer of the world**
