In this digital age, as convenience comes with a tap on a screen, the small everyday human moments are quickly disappearing. At a TEDx Talk at NC State University on April 3rd, Doctor of Design (DDes) candidate and designer Shruthi Manjula Balakrishna asked students to think critically about something as basic as a restaurant menu. In her talk, she explored how the change from physical menus to digital menus has changed the way we interact entirely, challenging the NC State community to look past efficiency and think about the interactions and experiences we lose by moving everyday experiences to the online world.

As director of research and brand at FÖDA, based in Austin, Shruthi studies the intersection of design, hospitality and human experiences. In addition to her professional work, she is pursuing a Doctor of Design at NC State’s College of Design. 

“Since I joined the [DDes] program, I’ve been studying how design systems affect the way people feel, behave and relate with one another. More specifically, my dissertation focuses on hospitality, especially upscale restaurant experiences, said Shruthi. “It looks at how something as ordinary as a menu can shape anticipation, attention, conversations and our behavior, while considering how all of these things have shifted because of the pandemic.”

Her TEDx Talk focused on the idea that since the pandemic, simple aspects of life – like a menu – have gone digital. Our society doesn’t realize what experiences we are giving up just for efficiency.

“I’ve made the observation that a menu basically sets the tone, it builds anticipation and it also often becomes part of a shared experience at the table when people are breaking bread together,” she said. 

Her research stemmed from the global pandemic, and she questioned how this fundamental shift in dining experiences would change post-pandemic. 

“When menus shift from physical to digital, the change is not just functional. There is a social change, an emotional change and a behavioral change,” said Shruthi. “We are not just scanning a QR code, we are being pulled into a different kind of relationship at the table.”

Not only is this an important topic that society needs to be aware of, it is specifically important for students to understand because they are living in a world where experiences are becoming more and more digital.

“My talk tries to point out that convenience can never be neutral, and it changes behavior,” she says. “Students in today’s day and age already know what it feels like to be physically present somewhere, but mentally pulled elsewhere.”

Shruthi hopes to bring awareness to students as they are let out into the real world, where technology continues to reshape our everyday life. Her TEDx Talk reminds us to take a step back and reflect on what people sacrifice for convenience. While technological tools like digital menus may seem more efficient, they also redefine how people connect and communicate. 

“I really wanted to share this perspective because I think it will help non-designers, as well as students and the community, see that design decisions we take for granted can have much larger human and cultural consequences,” she said. “This talk resonates beyond restaurants. It speaks to a broader question, to how technology reshapes our presence and interactions as well as everyday life.”

Her message reaches beyond restaurant menus. It’s also a reminder for students at NC State to reconsider the cost of convenience in this digital world. By making students aware of how technology is shaping the world today. Her talk challenges audiences to not just view efficiency as progress but also to consider what we’re sacrificing for it.