emphasizing the transformative action of the steeping process
and building anticipation for the cocktail’s taste. The Porthole
Infuser takes a part of the preparation process that is normally
hidden and brings it directly to the person’s table, providing time
for the drinker to contemplate the ingredients on display, creating
a mental checklist for their tongue to seek out when they take
their first sip.
The popularity of the Porthole Infuser at the Aviary led Kastner to
create a Kickstarter campaign^22 to fund the additional design and
manufacturing required to release it as a commercial product.
Support for the project was dramatic, achieving 25 times more
funding than originally asked. This backing set the course for a
redesign that allowed the infuser to be manufactured at scale
and sold for $100, down from the several hundred dollars that
each custom constructed Aviary version cost.
The Porthole Infuser is marketed as more than a cocktail tool,
working equally well to support the smell and taste of oils, teas,
or any other infusion recipe. It’s an example of how designers
can enhance the dining experience, not by crafting the smell or
taste of the food itself, but working in collaboration with a chef to
heighten our awareness of those senses.
Figure 2.x “Haptic” Juice Skin
Much of what we eat today comes in a package, rectangular
boxes that homogenize our food into the same shapes and
textures without regard to their smell or taste. Japanese designer
Naoto Fukasaswa explored how food packaging could more fully
engage our senses in his “Haptic” Juice Skin submission to the
Takeo Paper Show 2014.
(^22) "The Porthole." Kickstarter. Accessed January 25, 2015.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/692213374/the-porthole.