How QR menus are changing dining | Shruthi Manjula Balakrishna | TEDxNCState

When dinner begins with a screen, what happens to the experience of dining itself? Shruthi Manjula Balakrishna examines how QR code menus and digital convenience are quietly reshaping taste, conversation, and human connection. Blending design, behavior, and humor, this talk reveals how technology may be changing far more than just how we order. Originally from Bangalore, India, and now based in Austin, Texas, Shruthi Manjula Balakrishna is Director of Research & Design at FÖDA, where she leads research-driven brand and experience work for global brands, cultural institutions, and hospitality clients, making human behavior feel a bit more understandable. As a Doctor of Design candidate at NC State University, she investigates how crisis reshapes consumption and how design quietly nudges what we notice, value, buy, and how we behave.

Over nearly two decades as an award-winning designer, brand strategist, educator, she has spoken at international design conferences and festivals and has taught emerging designers to treat curiosity as a method, not a mood, in both classrooms and studios. Her work has been recognized by organizations such as AIGA, The One Club, Dieline, and Graphis.

She takes design seriously; everything else is up for negotiation, best conducted over strong tea and with her labrador, Ollie.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx