GREETINGS & WELCOME!

First things first. My name is Nicole, and I am a graduate student at the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities. I am in the last year of my studies, and am currently working on my thesis project. In short, I would like your help.

I am a graphic designer by trade. What I am interested in learning more about is how different narratives – stories – are graphically designed.

This is where you come in! I would like to collect some stories to use in a wide variety of designs. As far as the stories go, I am looking for stories that involve food or cooking in some way, since this is one of the few things that every person – no matter where they come from – have in common.

Your story should simply be about a memorable, significant, or interesting episode that involves food. It can be happy, sad, funny, poignant, or anything in between. The important thing is that the story is memorable to you. It could involve cooking food; preparing, serving or eating a meal (at home or in a restaurant). Really, anything where food is involved.

If you are interested, I would be thrilled to have you participate. Here is what you need to do. Click the link at the top of the screen that reads “submit your story ”. After that, you will see a page with a consent form. Read it over and if you agree, and would still like to participate, click “I agree” and continue on to the submission page.

Here you can type in your story and submit it to me. I suggest using another computer program to type your story so you can save a copy. Then, cut-and-paste the story into the submission form.

Also, if there is a recipe from your story that you would like to share, I would very much like to include those, so add it onto the end of your story, or let me know that you will send it at a later date. If you know, please let me know where the recipe came from – a magazine, a particular cookbook, handed down through the family, etc.

Include your first name, and e-mail address or other contact information (so I can contact you with questions, if I need to) and click “Send”.

Don’t worry about your writing. Not everyone is born a writer, and that doesn't make your stories any less interesting. Be as descriptive as possible, and I can help you with the rest if you would like. That is why the e-mail address is important.

Alright, on to the fine print. I will not share or sell your contact information with anyone, and all stories and your personal information (e-mail address) will be securely and safely stored. If you would prefer me to not use your real first name, please let me know. Your last name, if you share that with me, will not be used at any time. These stories may be posted on the internet, so be aware of that, though only first names will be used. If you would like to withdraw your story from my project at anytime, please let me know and I will delete your story.

Depending on the number of stories I get, I may not be able to use all of them in my project, but thank all of you for sharing your wonderful experiences.

Many thanks to everyone in advance,
Nicole Steinhofer

MFA Candidate
University of Minnesota – Twin Cities
Department of Design, Housing, & Apparel