Why this Co/Lab?
Our eating behaviour is often shaped less consciously than we might assume. Around ninety-five per cent of our behaviour takes place automatically, and about eighty per cent of our food choices are influenced by the environment: what is visible and available, how easy it is to grab something, and whether others are eating the same thing. This is precisely why it is so difficult to persuade people to make healthy and sustainable choices in the long term. This Co/Lab explored how design can help to change the environment itself, so that the better choice also becomes the most logical choice.
Three sessions, three important insights
Within the Co/Lab, partners combined their knowledge and experience in three design sessions. Practical insights, policy perspectives, and creative ideas were shared and tested. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with staff members and experts to illuminate the challenge from different angles. From this, three important insights emerged:
- Food choices are deeply personal. Our eating habits are linked to identity, autonomy, and culture. This makes behavioural change complex: measures aimed at health or sustainability often do not align with what truly drives people in their daily choices.
- Health and sustainability are usually not the top priorities. For most people, happiness, convenience, and cost are more decisive factors in their eating behaviour than long-term goals for the environment or society
-
Connecting to the short term works. To make healthy and sustainable choices feel natural, one must respond to what motivates people in the here and now: enjoyment, simplicity, and affordability.
The following pictures were taken by: Liza Target
From vision to action
Together with the wide-ranging knowledge and experience of the partners, this Co/Lab developed promising directions that can be applied directly within organisations. The design sessions combined practical experiences, policy perspectives, and creative thinking power, generating new points of departure to truly influence eating behaviour. Based on this, Ink Social Design developed a methodology that links system-level goals to human behaviour. At the core of this lies the 3G framework: Geluk, Gemak en Geld (translation: Happiness, Convenience, and Cost) as levers to make healthy and sustainable choices more self-evident.
During Dutch Design Week 2025 (18–26 October), this will be showcased in a presentation within the exhibition Designing Society at Ketelhuisplein in Eindhoven.
Would you like to know what this approach could mean for your organisation? On Thursday 23 October, Ink Social Design will present in The Square how companies and institutions can apply the 3G framework. Keep an eye on the website for more information and details on how to register for this event.
Cusrious about the full publication?
Ink Social Design has compiled all insights into a clear PDF document. You can download the publication below!