Food is the ‘material’ which Katja uses for visual communication. As a designer she helps people see food as part of a bigger picture: country of origin, customs, tastes. That’s how she tries to make a positive contribution to our food culture. At the same time she aims to increase awareness ...
Food is the ‘material’ which Katja uses for visual communication. As a designer she helps people see food as part of a bigger picture: country of origin, customs, tastes. That’s how she tries to make a positive contribution to our food culture. At the same time she aims to increase awareness of today’s social issues such as biodiversity and sustainability.
Methods
Katja’s methods can be described as both intuitive and organic. She uses experiments to study her ideas and then tests these as much as possible in practice. She explores the connections between food, science, technology, culture, nature and design. In carrying out her ideas, she collaborates with specialists in a wide range of disciplines: from top chefs and scientists to filmmakers and people from the business community.
Katja Gruijters CV
In 1998 Katja graduated from the Design Academy Eindhoven. During her time there, she had already started to specialize in designing food and drink. People often asked her what a designer’s job in the food industry involved. She soon decided to call herself a food designer, explaining at the same time that she worked on concepts for both food and drink.
After working for several companies in the food industry, she set up Studio Katja Gruijters in 2001. She now spends her time thinking up and implementing concepts for clients. She also develops her own products and ideas.
As the first food designer in the Netherlands, she was asked by the Dutch trade journal Foodmagazine to work as a columnist. Katja also helped develop a new course called Food Design at the HAS Den Bosch University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. She taught food design herself at the HAS for five years.
In recent years she has regularly exhibited her work in the Netherlands and other countries. Katja also gives workshops and works as a visiting lecturer, both at home and abroad. O.a in het Stedelijk museum and Nemo in Amsterdam, museum Boymans van Beuningen in Rotterdam, and Museum of arts and design in New York (MAD).
"My company deals with the promotion of digital products on the educational market. I have come this open meeting in order to find the answers to my questions concerning the sales. I have certain use-proven techniques which enable us to get a high profit percentage, but at present we face some complications concerning precisely sales and the final chain. Itwas yesterday when I was given not exactly answers, but certainguidelines on solving these problems. I hope these issues will be completely resolved today and sales will eventually be multiplied by 5. That is what I am after. How can I put things I learned into practice? Of course, I will apply my new knowledge to my company, directly to my subordinates. The work we are doing at present should be structured. I already see the ways of doing that. Consequently, the result will differ from the present one. I regard the implementation of the technique as structuring the operating process as well as compressing the process itself."
"Over ten years ago, Katja Gruijters put 'food designer' on her business card. Gruijters was the first to use this word and food design has become an industry. "