Resonant Tableware: A multisensory aperitivo.

Role | Lead, Ideation, Experimentation

Duration | 6 months

Team | 2 Leads, 1 Product Designer, 1 Interior Designer, 3 Developers × TDFK Studio

Location | Milan, Italy

✪ Publication | Fuorisalone 2025, Green Media

Brief Intro

An immersive aperitivo experience where design, technology, and perception converge. Hidden beneath LaMARI CREATIVE SHOPPING, Resonant Table is a secret pop-up bar that reimagines the aperitivo ritual through a multisensory lens. Here, flavor is just the beginning, we engage sight, touch, and emotion to forge a deeper connection with what we consume.

With Resonant Tableware, we explore perception, emotion, and interaction. Blending science and art, the experience turns mixology into a medium for discovery. It’s a journey into the future of food and design, inviting guests to awaken their senses in new and unexpected ways.

The Experience

Guided by the vibrations of sound waves, the Cymatics Cup transforms your drink into a visual spectacle, amplifying both flavor and aesthetic delight. Simultaneously, the Living Plate heightens culinary immersion and food awareness by syncing your meal with your heartbeat. As your pulse turns into light, your dining experience glows, deepening the connection with every bite.

Booth Layout & Spatial Experience

Program

⦁ Exhibition (Open to the Public): April 8 (Tue) – April 13 (Sun), 2025, 10:00–19:00
⦁ Cocktail Party (By Invitation Only): April 10 (Thu), 2025, 19:00–22:00

Retrospect

As an HCI researcher based in Japan, I am deeply grateful for the collaboration with TDFK Studio that made this Milan Design Week exhibition possible. The joint curation took nearly a year, with the first half focusing on iterating the form of Cymatics Cup and Living Plate, and the latter half devoted to designing the installation. Over this period, our lab shipped two batches of custom electronic components from Japan to Italy, where TDFK founder Stefano Citi shaped not only the physical form of the tableware but also the spatial experience of the exhibition. His aesthetic sensitivity infused the project with cultural depth, while Milanese glass artisans hand-blended technological precision with the warmth of traditional craftsmanship, creating pieces that bridge innovation and intimacy at the dining table. Cross-country collaboration is never easy, yet the outcome exceeded expectations. This experience reaffirmed my belief that academic research can transcend papers and manifest as aesthetic, publicly engaging works. I hope to continue this model of collaboration, bringing Human-Food Interaction research not only to CHI each year but also to cultural stages like Milan Design Week, where science and design truly meet.