Fermenting Design Workshop Vol.3

Call for Participants

This workshop will be held in Japanese.

Workshop Overview

As a design concept, fermentation resists contemporary accelerationism and instead advocates modes of making that allow value to mature slowly over time. At Ferment Media Research, through the design of artifacts that communicate with fermenting microbes—such as Nukabot and Misobot—we have been exploring technologies that support not short-term “problem solving,” but the long-term cultivation of relationships.

In the previous Design X Diamond workshops hosted by Diamond, Inc., we worked with participants to consider how the idea of “fermentation” can be translated into concrete design practices, and to give those inquiries tangible form.

In this third edition of the workshop, participants will co-design alongside the instructors, taking on more hands-on, fermentation-inspired making.

During the first two sessions, we will surface each participant’s interests and concerns, identify the objects or themes to be designed, and form groups. In the third session, participants will bring in works-in-progress for discussion. The final session will be dedicated to demonstrations and presentations.

The scope of “making” in this workshop is deliberately open. For example, the instructors are currently considering the development of Kimchibot—an artifact designed for living in dialogue with fermenting kimchi—and we welcome participants who may wish to co-design this with us. We also plan to compile this design process into a ZINE to be published for the Tokyo Literary Flea Market in spring 2026.

Other directions—such as knitting, cooking, or any idea that resists conventional stereotypes of technology design—are equally welcome.

Throughout the workshop, participants will also engage in journaling practices to “ferment their thinking.” For this purpose, we will introduce Pickles, our in-development support tool aimed at creating a “fermenting SNS.”

After the program ends, we hope to exhibit the interesting artifacts born through this fermentation-inspired process—together with each participant’s thinking and journaling—at a venue in Tokyo. Participation in the production and exhibition phase will be voluntary and will take place after the workshop concludes. We welcome participants who are motivated to keep communicating with the instructors (primarily via Discord) and to continue developing and presenting their work.

In short, we hope to “ferment” many open possibilities together with all participants on site. We especially welcome those who wish to deepen their practice not only in technology, but also in design more broadly—editing, curation, and the various forms of activity that sustain everyday life.

Note:

Outside of the on-site sessions, it is essential that team members be able to communicate (via Discord or other tools). Active participation beyond the designated workshop hours is crucial, so please keep this in mind when applying.

Program Details

FERMENTING

Fermenting Design Workshop

Schedule:

January 9 (Fri), January 23 (Fri), February 2 (Mon), February 9 (Mon), 2026

(4 sessions in total)

Time:

14:00–17:00 (1/9, 1/23, 2/2)

13:00–18:00 (2/9, followed by a social gathering until approx. 19:30)

Venue:

K,D,C,,, Food Lab (Kimchi, Durian, Cardamom)

JR Shin-Okubo Station Building 4F

1-10-15 Hyakunincho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

Capacity: Approx. 30 participants

Instructors:

Dominique Chen, Yong-A Song, Kazuhiro Jo

Organizer: Diamond, Inc. / Design X Diamond

Cooperation: K,D,C,,,

More Information:

FERMENTING: Fermenting Design Workshop — Designing Futures with Fermentative Thinking