Design as a Tool for Critical Thinking
Task
To design and deliver a masterclass that helps culinary students use intersectional design thinking to imagine and communicate alternative, values-driven futures.
For two consecutive years, we have had the pleasure of collaborating with the Basque Culinary Center through an ongoing partnership, delivering a masterclass on design and intersectionality to their students from the Master’s in Gastronomic Sciences.
The class is designed to empower and inspire students, helping them explore their own ways of sharing knowledge based on their personal stories, values, and interests. Guided through a mix of theory and hands-on exercises, students go on both an individual and collective journey. The class unfolds through short inputs followed by quick creative activities, always aiming to spark critical and imaginative thinking.
During this masterclass, we guide students through a mix of short theoretical inputs and hands-on activities. Rather than promoting product-based thinking, the masterclass’s aim is to cultivate radical imagination and critical thought. The goal is not to generate business plans or objects for sale, but to create space for alternative, liberating approaches to design.
To support this process, we created a set of bespoke materials for the class, consisting of a series of fictional clients, constraints, and a deck of persona cards featuring random characters that students must take into account when designing their projects. These tools encourage students to step into other perspectives and stretch their thinking beyond familiar, normative narratives.
We’re deeply thankful to the amazing BCC team for their trust and support. And above all, we’re constantly inspired by the intelligence, creativity, and sensitivity of their students. Every edition of this class is a reminder of how powerful and transformative design can be.