SXSW 2012 - Mac-n-Cheese: Learning About Product Design from Comfort Foods

Mac-n-Cheese: Learning About Product Design from Comfort Foods
Event	Interactive 2010
Format	Panel
Organizer	Julie Stanford – Sliced Bread Design
Description	Comfort foods are the epitome of success. Delicious, ubiquitous, and easy. This panel of chefs and designers will explore what food can teach about product design. What makes a new recipe take-off? How do you make your product comfy on first use and then make people want to use it again?
Questions Answered	What do food and online experiences have in common? What makes comfort foods so appealing? Can the qualities of comfort food translate into successful software/websites? How do you create a new recipe that a mass audience will like as much as an old standby like mac-n-cheese? How do you have a successful and cutting edge restaurant? What makes a product easy and intuitive to use? What techniques/lessons from recipe creation (for restaurants/cookbooks/magazines) can be applied to the design of new technologies? How do you create a new product that people will feel comfortable using from the start? How do you get a following for your food? For your restaurant? For your product? What mistakes should you avoid when creating a new technology product or service?
Level	Intermediate
Category	Design Thinking, Interface Design, Mobile Applications, User Experience, Web Apps / Widgets

Mac-n-Cheese: Learning About Product Design from Comfort Foods