This graduation thesis is about finding a meaningful application for the emerging technology of 3D food printing within the cultural context of urban Japan. The method was based on Verganti’s Design driven innovation to (re)define the meaning of the product. The analysis phase deconstructed the product into its physical capabilities and its current meaning. These key qualities were then clustered and examined within the Japanese context. This part of the research was based on desk research, own past experiences and a stay in the context that resulted in interviews with experts and observations. The research concluded that there was not a need in nutrition assistance, but in nurturing the mental health as factors such as high societal pressure, loss in genuine intimacy and a need to escape were evident.

This resulted in the vision of food poetry which seeks to share memories through food by addressing the senses using the ingredients that correspond to that memory. The physical outcome is the concept of a food haiku; a food composition that consists out of three edible snacks, representing the most important elements of that memory, a written haiku and a specially designed case that enhances the experience. In addition, as food printing requires the skills of both ingredient / cooking knowledge and 3D modeling, a complete product service system was then proposed. The service consisted out of three stakeholders; each having their respective roles in the process of creating and receiving a food haiku. Lastly, the concept’s value was evaluated with interviewees from the Japanese context. The conclusion was that the concept was a modernization of various traditional rituals and was deemed as valuable for the new generation.

This project is about controlling plastic such that a designer can create 3D art structures of 3 x 3 x 3 meters. The designer and main stakeholder (Tiwánee van der Horst) of this project has just started her own art business. Her inspiration to make art comes from her own graduation project. In this project she wants to convert 2D painting into 3D painting by swapping paint for plastic. She investigated painting and 3D printing techniques and combined them. The result is the idea to create a manually controllable extruder for plastic which translates her body movements into 3D art structures.

An extruder is a pipe (barrel) with a screw inside it and heating elements around it (figure 3). When the screw is rotated the threads (grooved ridges) will push the plastic forwards. The heating elements will melt the plastic along the way. The plastic will enter the extruder in a solid state and will leave the extruder in a molten state.

By manually controlling the extruder the designer can express her artistic creativity in 3D. The context for the artwork of Tiwánee van der Horst will be urban residential areas. In these areas she will integrate her artwork into existing features of buildings. The extruder will be used as a 3D paint brush in such a urban residential area.

The storyline throughout this report will be a journey of plastic. In the report it will be explained how plastic granulate (small pieces of plastic 4 x 4 x 4mm) is transformed and controlled by the 3D paint brush into plastic artworks.

This report describes the creation of a haptic feedback device for virtual reality computer aided design applications using the Manus VR Gloves.