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An Illustrated Guide to Edible Flora in the Neo-Plasticene: From Empirical Research to Sensory Speculation through Design
Summary
This speculative design study uses AI-assisted narrative and visual generation to create an illustrated guide imagining how microplastic pollution might alter the morphology and sensory qualities of edible plants, proposing the concept of a "Neo-Plasticene" era to make the slow ecological effects of plastic contamination more perceptually tangible.
As micro plastics gradually infiltrate the physiological structures and sensory characteristics of edible plants, this study combines empirical research and speculative design to construct an illustrated guide of edible flora in the “New Plastic Age”, which we herein conceptualize as the Neo-Plasticene. Through AI-assisted narrative and visual generation, the guide simulates potential morphological and sensory mutations in plants subjected to pollution stress—articulating intermediary species positioned between nature and artificiality, defined by their latent transformation and persistent edibility. This project addresses the perceptual challenge of slow ecological mutation by proposing the guidebook as a design medium for future food narratives and environmental perception, offering an extensible model for speculative research in sensory design, pollution visualization, and ecological storytelling.