This visual ethnography explores how explicit understanding of the process of eating ethnic street foods can help design meaningful and engaging food experiences for users and providers. It presents an innovative approach of conducting ethnographic research that involves important domains of experience-focused innovation. Most importantly, it integrates broader perspectives of globalization, immigration, and cultural assimilation to ask if gustatory pleasures of the palate can act as a powerful medium to develop deeper inter-cultural ties. Nobel Laureate Gunnar Myrdal commented, “Problems do not come in disciplines”. “Eat Your Heart Out” takes an interdisciplinary route to explore an issue that is economically pertinent, socially challenging, and culturally intricate.
Renu Zunjarwad I am a Ph.D. candidate at Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, ASU, United States. My area of interest is ethnographic research for design innovation and I am working at the edge of design and anthropology disciplines to explore integrative research approaches. Renu.Zunjarwad@asu.edu