During Christmas time, the traditional Myths and Legends Parade is held in the colombian city of Medellin, Antioquia. During this celebration, the "Madremonte"/Mother Mountain appears with her long lianas, yellow eyes and elegant hat made of leaves, to be with the antioquian families and share with them the typical natilla.
ABOUT THE PARADE
The Myths and Legends Parade is a night event held in Medellin and other towns from Antioquia on December 7th or 8th during the Christmas Festival. The goal of this celebration is to recover the oral tradition.
DESIGN CONCEPT
To relate the Madremonte and the families as live-giving roles, and put this notion into the christmas habit of natilla*
To generate an union between grandparents and grandchildren through this gastronomic ritual with the purpose of recovering and exalting typical habits and the oral tradition coming from our ancestors.
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*Natilla is a traditional antioquian dessert that families usuallly eat during Christmas time. It is made with milk, panela and corn. It has a similar texture to a custard. It arrived to Colombia during colonial times.
USER PROFILE
SIGN MATRIX
Relations of the most important aspects of the parade and the legend of Madremonte.
MASK AND CROSIER DESIGNED FROM THE MATRIX
Elements for the Parade, inspired on Madremonte and her powers. During this design stage we obtain an object synthesizing the information obtained in the matrix.
MASK AND CROSIER- PROTOTYPE
PRODUCT EVOLUTION
Formal-aesthetic attributes of the tableware are obtained parting from the mask and crosier. The features of the festival and the antioquian families' Christmas traditions give the product a function and purpose.
2D and 3D representations:
Early prototype
2D representation inspired by flowers and its color palette
Variation of 2D representation
3D Representation of the second iteration
3D Representation of the second iteration
3D model of third iteration
Evolution with softer edges and another color palette
Bowl for the natilla
Individual plate
Serving shovel
Center plate for buñuelos
Full tableware set for natilla
PATTERNS FOR THE NATILLA TABLEWARE
Different design options for the decorative pattern, inspired by Antioquia's flora and fauna.
NATILLA TABLEWARE: MITA MITO
Mita Mito, is a wordplay which unifies the word "Mita", a way of calling grandmothers in some parts of Antioquia, with "Mito" (myth), the Parade's essence and the inspiration for the product. As a result, Mita Mito means "The grandmother of myths", who teaches colombians to respect and promote our oral tradition and culture.
Plato central para buñuelos
Molde para natilla
Plato individual
Pala para el servicio
Tableware for six people
Some production and painting tests were made with artisans of the region. The pattern was modified, deleting the purple background and highlighting clay's natural color, to obtain a better finish. Thus, Mita Mito adapts to the artistic style of Carmen del Viboral, a municipality in Antioquia proposed for the manufacture of the product due to its great ceramic tradition.
PACKAGING
The Treasure Chest is a packaging designed to preserve the tableware while it is not being used. At the same time, it brings bonding moments between grandparents and grandsons through images and stories related to Madre Monte.
Empty packaging, with space for the stories that will be enjoied by the family
Madre Monte Illustration, based on Antioquia's mountains and inspired by the mask
Short stories in spanish about Madre Monte
Packaging faces with the patterns from the tableware
Planimetry
Treasuring chest with the product
BUSINESS CANVAS
REGENERATION CULTURE
To reconcile with our past opens a door to the possibility of recovering habits or actions that were more sustainable.
The proposed life cycle implies that when the product is damaged, it will not be thrown away. On the contrary, it could be recycled and replaced by another tableware set, or repaired, letting the resulting cracks tell a story. This model can be inherited generation by generation, and defies the stigma of discarding an object at the end of its cycle.
VIDEO
Representation of the use rituality, in the context of christmas celebrations and with traditional music from Antioquia.
Designed with Andrés Castellanos
