Final Abs take two.

Through experience design, food can serve as a new form of Anzac memorialisation to engage and generate empathy within young, disconnected New Zealanders.

Anzac Day is central to New Zealand’s cultural collective memory. However, a survey I conducted showed that 66% of youth aged 17-25 felt removed from the war, citing an association with boredom (through teachings at schools) and a lack of personal connection as leading causes.

My investigation into present forms of Anzac memorialisation revealed the dominance of one-way, static communication. This traditional model is ineffective as audiences have developed immunity from its repetitive and inflexible nature (Gobé, 2001). Experience design can engage and connect with an audience “in a personal, memorable way” (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p99). With a strong focus on visual and aural experiences, previous Anzac memorials have neglected the strengths of touch, taste, and smell in communication and memory creation (Kavanagh, 2000).

Food is a commonality that can link cultures and generations (Guptil, Copelton & Lucal, 2013). Through this lens, I began my design response by replicating the monotonous diets of the Anzac soldiers. There was a high level of interest in this experiment as it provided a different angle to the Anzac story. Furthermore, it provided a personalised experience by inviting the audience to generate their own meaning.

My research through personal accounts informed my following experiments. I focussed on replicating the food eaten, place eaten, time eaten and time between eating.

I propose to create a palatable memorial experience as a new form of Anzac commemoration. By utilising food as a commonality, I intend on focussing on the forgotten senses to communicate a sense of time and place—providing young, disconnected New Zealanders a ‘first hand experience’ of war.


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Through experience design, food can serve as a new form of Anzac memorialisation to engage and generate empathy within young, disconnected New Zealanders.

Anzac Day is central to New Zealand’s cultural collective memory. However, a survey I conducted showed that 66% of youth aged 17-25 felt removed from the war, citing an association with boredom and a lack of personal connection as leading causes.

My investigation into present forms of Anzac memorialisation revealed the dominance of static, one-way communication. This traditional model is ineffective as audiences have developed immunity from its repetitive and inflexible nature (Gobé, 2001). Experience design can engage and connect with an audience “in a personal, memorable way” (Pine & Gilmore, 1998, p99). With a strong focus on visual and aural experiences, previous Anzac memorials have neglected the strengths of touch, taste, and smell in communication and memory creation (Kavanagh, 2000).

Food is a commonality that can link cultures and generations (Guptil, Copelton & Lucal, 2013). Through this lens, I began my design response by replicating the monotonous diets of the Anzac soldiers. There was a high level of interest in this experiment as it provided a different angle to the Anzac story. Furthermore, it provided a personalised experience by inviting the audience to generate their own meaning.

My research through personal accounts informed my following experiments. I focussed on replicating the food eaten, place eaten, time eaten and time between eating.

I propose to create a palatable memorial experience as a new form of Anzac commemoration. By utilising food as a commonality, I intend on focussing on the forgotten senses to communicate a sense of time and place—providing young, disconnected New Zealanders a ‘first hand experience’ of war.

283 words, ugh.