GENERAL VISION FOR 2050

​

In 2050, I think our world would look very different. The way we think in 2020 will influence heavily how we live in 2050. Although technology is continuously improving and expanding, people will realise living this changing life isn’t sustainable. Like stated previously, megatrends, such as lifestyles, will continue and be most prominent for our future. (Mega Trends & Their Impact, n.d.) states megatrends are shaping the future for the way we are living. Our lifestyles will adapt from previous experiences. 2050 will be a more intense and adapted version on minimalism during this pandemic. Companies will realise that people have found it comforting striping back to be minimal. Therefore products, concepts and designs will suit minimalism.

​

​

​

PRODUCT REVIEW

​

When designing a product, especially for the future, it’s essential to understand implications. Implications that are important to this tablet are misuse, superiority, ethical, distribution & regulation.

This tablet would be taken voluntarily, which would ensure no expectation for anyone to take the pill or feel pressured to take them. ‘Define a taste’ would be sold at local pharmacies and distributed based on demand. I expect there to be delivered in 2050, but rather with self-driving cars. Ideally, this tablet would be government-funded, to make it affordable for people, and regulated, so it isn’t rare to buy. These tablets intend to be similar to a research case study, miracle berries. “Define a taste’, similarly to miracle berries, cannot overdose as it is not a drug, rather an ingredient that masks your tastebuds. Meaning, it would be hard for this product to be misused and cause no side effects. This product does have potential to label people and create a class system. People could be labelled a superior if they had access to this tablet; however, it would be ideal to make this affordable to try and combat this issue. It’s important to point out some people may believe this isn’t ethically correct to artificially change your tastebuds to allow you to eat more nutritious food. It may come across as an unnatural way to consume food. This implication is the most detrimental as it could become a trend to not invest in artificial products. This would then create a terrible stigma for the product and create a social divide. A solution for this would design a similar product but make from natural ingredients, similar to the miracle berry. Natural products would then allow for a broader audience when selling this product.

 

One perspective to these tablets is people favour e reduction of food waste over nutrients of food. Although by eating a variety of food provides you with more nutrients, there also comes more waste. In a minimalistic world, this can be quite detrimental to the users. The majority of my users would have a minimalistic mind, so a product could potentially create more waste which would not interest users. However, due to adaption of minimalistic habits, users would be accustomed to not wasting food and therefore be wise with their food waste.

 

 

The second perspective of this assistive technology is not everyone’s tastebuds may have adapted to bland foods. Everyone evolves and adapts differently, which could have harm to my product. Elderly generations may not have adapted so quickly to this bland lifestyle and still accustomed to 2020 lifestyle, which would mean this product is useless to them. This could create a class division with people gaining superiority over the possession of this new technology. This class division could pressure the elderly to buy the tablets even when they don’t need, leading to more waste.

 

 

In 2050, I think it will be a different world, which is why I believe this product has potential to survive. However, I do agree with perspective one and how food waste would increase due to this product. Although, rising by slight amounts wouldn’t make much of a difference due to peoples existing habits of cooking minimal food. I also believe everyone should have to same access to the tablet, but don’t think a tablet would define a superior class. I believe this assistive technology wouldn’t be very highly ranked socially due to its, hopefully, affordability and accessibility.

​

​

References 

Mega Trends & Their Impact. (n.d.). https://www.bigsurpartners.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Thinking-Man-44-Mega-Trends-Their-Impact.pdf