UMA – tableware that boosts taste
DESIGN: Hak Studio (Żanetta Korsak, Paweł Lasota)
Poland
make me! 2025
Interprint Award and cash prize in amount of PLN 5.000
“UMA” is a project designed to support people with taste disorders – especially seniors, those with reduced appetite, or individuals who lost their sense of taste, e.g. after COVID-19. The tableware set enhances taste perception through visual and tactile stimuli. “UMA” is inspired by the research of Charles Spence in gastrophysics, which shows that our brain forms taste expectations before food reaches the mouth. Color, texture, and shape can influence taste perception and help reduce salt, sugar, and additives.
The set includes two porcelain pieces. The dessert plate is inspired by cream and toffee; two colors are mixed in the mold like in candy-making, creating a unique glossy spiral pattern. The bowl for savory dishes features a rough, dry outer texture and a glazed interior resembling crystallized salt. It invites touch, enhancing earthy and salty sensations.
MK Studio (Magdalena & Michal Kaluzny-Wlodarek) is responsible for the production of the ceramic design project.
UMA – tableware that boosts taste, design: Hak Studio (Żanetta Korsak, Paweł Lasota) / ph. Natalia Gromiec
UMA – tableware that boosts taste, design: Hak Studio (Żanetta Korsak, Paweł Lasota) / ph. Natalia Gromiec
UMA – tableware that boosts taste, design: Hak Studio (Żanetta Korsak, Paweł Lasota) / from designer’s archive
UMA – tableware that boosts taste, design: Hak Studio (Żanetta Korsak, Paweł Lasota) / ph. Michał Kałużny-Włodarek
HAK Studio
A design studio specializing in hacking products, production processes, and companies through research, strategy, and industrial design. True to its name, it employs various methods and tricks to simplify life and solve problems, including those related to accessibility and sustainability. The studio is led by Zanetta Korsak and Pawel Lasota, and it collaborates with off beat experts who bring added value and fresh perspectives to each project. One notable example of their work is “Uma – tableware that boosts taste” where the studio hacks tableware and the eating experience. The project combines improved accessibility, functionality, and visually appealing forms with insights from gastrophysics, the psychology of eating, and surprising production methods.
DESIGNER’S PORTFOLIO