thefoodexchange
process book
thefoodexchange
process book
Content
Question Problem The Issue at Hand The Immigration Issue
09 11
Solution The Question & Answer The Benefits of Food Truck The Business
15 17 19
Interviewing Menu Design Deliverables and Interviews 41 Naming 42 Logo Exploration 45 Typography 51
Color Palette 52 Pattern 55 Final Logo 57
System Roll-Up Banners 73 Food Truck 75 Packaging 77
Website 79 Feedback 81
thefoodexchange
The Evolution Of The Question LEFT A boy from Honduras
watches a movie at a de-
tention facility in McAllen, Texas. U.S. Customs and
Border Protection opened the holding center to
temporarily house children after tens of thousands of families and unaccompanied minors from Central America surged into the United States seeking political asylum. RIG H T
stands near a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border
fence near La Joya, Texas, during a night patrol in the Rio Grande Valley.
PHOTOS B Y JOH N MO OR E
A U.S. Border Patrol agent
n
question
process I had to come up with a proposal for my degree project. Being as I was undocumented until the age of 17, I decided to tackle the issue of immigration; what exactly about it I had no idea. What I did know was that immigrants in America were treated differently and those were undocumented even worse. So my question TO START MY
How can graphic design humanize the immigrant experience in America? simply became The proposal at the time that I wrote said the following: I am interested in how immigrants are treated in America, and how the experience can change depending on how they made it to America. In today’s political climate immigrants have become a hot issue to debate. One side argues that America is only for its citizens, while the other argues that all must be accepted with open arms. The fact of the matter is that this nation was built from immigrants that belonged to different parts of the world. My question stems from a place of curiosity and disappointment as immigrants, myself included, are treated as a separate part of society and considered, “others.” A deeper issue within the subtle ostracization of people coming to America from another country, is the villainization of immigrants and refugees who are undocumented in America, or trying to enter. Words such as alien, and illegal paint these people as the antagonist in the story of America. Donald Trump himself has described immigrants from Mexico as, “rapists and drug dealers,”
using these descriptions as a way to instigate fear in Americans. With the rise of nationalism, not to be confused with patriotism, immigrants are being stopped at the borders, children are being separated from their families, families are being torn apart, and unfortunately people are dying. The question proposed in the beginning can seem obvious from the perspective of an multi-generational American, but the reality is that documented immigrants, undocumented immigrants, and those who need to enter the United States of America have been dehumanized and not treated with the same compassion we would treat our next door neighbors with. It’s easy to ignore the problem when it isn’t in close physical proximity with ourselves.
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I believe that the solution could be a form of media that places the information and stories of these people at the forefront to create a newfound sense of empathy and put a face to a badly described population. At the core of this solution is a heart of activism. This topic was my own experience until the age of 17. The solution can even branch into the online world as that is the most accessible form of communication, taking the form of a website with a mission. This was my proposal as I didn’t know yet what the project would turn into and manifest. After coming back from winter break I realized that in order to create a more believ-
thefoodexchange
process book
How Can Design Humanize The
Immigrant Experience In Boston?
question
7
FINAL QUEST ION
e
n
able project, I would have to bring the scope of the project down further. America was not my target instead the people of Boston were. The question then evolved into
How can design humanize the immigrant experience in Boston? This took a massive weight off my back because now I wouldn’t have to create an in depth audience analysis of America. This also meant that however my project manifested that the product could be here in Boston and customized for the people that live here. As I told people about the project I was met with excitement as the current political climate become more hostile each day. What surprised me was the amount of people , most undocumented, that offered to be inter-
viewed if needed. They wanted their voices to be heard, and saw my project as a means of way. I was approached by 30+ people that found out about my project through means of mouth, and they told me that if I needed to interview them that they would be at my deposition. This impacted me greatly, and inspired me. I knew that my project needed to give this part of society a voice, specifically the undocumented side of Boston’s immigrant community. This pushed me to make the last change to my question. I needed to be specific with what I wanted to answer, so by simply adding one word I completely changed what would my project would become. The word undocumented as I would come to find out is a very loaded question and creates many challenges. For example how the current administration treats undocumented immigrants as villians and horrible people.
thefoodexchange
BE LOW Mexican migrant workers harvest organic parsley in Wel-
lington, Colorado. Farmers nationwide say they have found it nearly impossible to hire U.S. citizens for seasonal, laborintensive farm work
PHOTOS B Y JOH N MO OR E
problem
This Is A Problem? Negative stereotypes can become hostile beliefs. has had an immigrant issue since it’s founding. Now the issue isn’t with those who are coming to America, but rather those who were already here having the issue. The first wave of Catholic immigrants in America were met with hostility as people here believed that having Catholic immigrants meant that they would only listen to the Pope and not be loyal to America. Currently the spotlight has been put on those who are coming up from border. The rhetoric that is being used perpetuates xenophobia and nationalism, and all it does is remove the humanity from a part of society that is just seeking a better life. People who come to America not because they want to come here, PU T S IMPLY, AME RICA
but because they need to come here. These people are families, dreamers, children, grandparents, refugees. To fully understand why people had such difficulty with immigrants I needed to understand the other side of the argument—attempt to understand why people might have issues with people coming into their nation.
Trying to understand the other side of the issue would allow me to understand the morals and values of people that have accepted and/or embraced the dehumanization of undocumented immigrants. Reaching the middle ground in any debate allows for better discussions around the topic and endorses better language.
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The immigrant issue in America and the underlying subconscious.
immigrants is rooted in fear. Fear that they will take over. This fear interestingly enough comes from a rationale place. An instinct we carry is that things we are not accustomed to we treat differently because we do not understand them. Someone who has never seen a banana in their life won’t know how to open it. But intrigue can lead down to paths: either acceptance of difference or attempt to learn about it or resistance to change and fear that it will change the “normal”. This is where the fear comes from. Some Americans have decided to meet new cultures with rejection and fear that they could change America; which is why I believe the mantra “Make America Great Again” was so highly accepted. Those who wore these and shouted that phrase at rallies don’t want America where white people are not the majority—fear that in a couple of years they will become a minority, a fact backed by the American census. Additionally the phrase that immigrants are taking over is an incredible hyperbole. According to the U.S. census,“If immigrants ‘do jobs that Americans won’t do’, we should be able to identify occupations in which the workers are nearly all AME RICA’S IS S UE WITH
PHOTOS B Y TAL COH E N
problem
11
B OT TOM LEFT Free the People Immigration March in Pershing Square, Los Angeles, CA R IGH T Members of the far-Right English Defence League protest in Luton, UK, in 2012.
foreign-born. However, among the 474 separate occupations defined by the Department of Commerce, we find only a handful of majority-immigrant occupations, and none completely dominated by immigrants (legal or illegal). Furthermore, in none of the 474 occupations do illegal immigrants constitute a majority of workers.” This is one of the facts that really made an impact for me because I realized that one of the most used expressions to villanize immigrants, not even talking about undocumented immigrants, is false. What else shocked me was the census reporting that “,there were 10.7 million unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. in 2016, representing 3.3% of the total U.S. population that year. The 2016 unauthorized immigrant total is a 13% decline from the peak of 12.2 million in 2007, when this group was 4% of the U.S. population.” So undocumented immigrants are not an invading threat, and what impresses me is that the facts are available to everyone, but because we live in the age of information people can pick and choose what they choose to see and hear. Which leads me to my next point that people will only find information that makes them feel better. The theory of collective narcissism is at the core of the rise of nationalism globally. A study at the University of London has tackled this theory that ,“research from my PrejudiceLab at Goldsmiths, shows that people who score high on the collective narcissism scale are particularly sensitive to even the smallest offences to their group’s image. As opposed to individuals with narcissistic personality, who maintain inflated views of
themselves, collective narcissists exaggerate offences to their group’s image, and respond to them aggressively. Collective narcissists believe that their group’s importance and worth are not sufficiently recognized by others. They feel that their group merits special treatment, and insist that it gets the recognition and respect it deserves. In other words,
A belief in the exaggerated greatness of one’s group collective narcissism amounts to a belief in the exaggerated greatness of one’s group, and demands external validation. Collective narcissists are not simply content to be members of a valuable group. They don’t devote their energy to contributing to the group’s betterment and value. Rather, they engage in monitoring whether everybody around, particularly other groups, recognise and acknowledge the great value and special worth of their group. To be sure,
collective narcissists demand privileged treatment, not equal rights. And the need for continuous external validation of the group’s inflated image (a negative attribute) is what differentiates collective narcissists from those who simply hold positive feelings about their group.” Being one person I won’t be able to completely break those who partake in this type of hive mind through data. People simply don’t have to believe and all the information put in front of them is rendered useless. I believe the key to changing people’s mind is through the heart, through emotion. Change is difficult but it is inevitable, and because of that I believe that someone who does not like immigrants can learn to see them as people, and not a far away threat. The solution is creating emotion through story telling and allowing the stories of undocumented immigrants to be put on the spotlight so that the current media is not the only source of information. I believe that a new source of stories needs to arise. But then the question is proposed as to how this story is delivered?
thefoodexchange
process book
The Solution The answer is activism. was going to be delivered stumped me for a long time. To help myself I designed the solution from where I had initially thought it would lead: a non profit company that did activism. Through ideation and conversation with my peers I realized the one thing that ties all people of all cultures together: food. So my second idea would be a restaurant that places the spotlight on undocumented immigrants. Then the undocumented word came to play and I realized that a fixed location with undocumented HOW T HIS STORY
immigrants there was dangerous and so the idea of a food truck was born. Each have their pros and cons.
solution
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1
2
3
The nonprofit trying to create attention
The restaurant sharing the culture
The food truck with a mission
A nonprofit with a focus on activism. I believed that the solution to creating empathy is through showing the humanity of people. The company would achieve this by creating posters and ads that would be only local to Boston; a sort of Boston takeover. The core of this solution is the idea of impact and making it difficult to ignore. Undocumented immigrants take part of the process by “donating” their stories to the company with hopes that through advertisement people can crowd source funds and legal help.
The idea of creating a win-win situation carries through to the restaurant. The restaurant would hire immigrants and undocumented immigrants. Yes this is against the law but they will find work either way, so why not offer it to those who seriously need it, and deprive a family of food on the table? The restaurant would conduct interviews the same way as the non profit would and each month would place the spotlight on one story. That story will be transformed into a menu and placed in front of customers. The idea then is connection through food, and learning the person’s journey to America through their cuisine. Half of the proceeds from the restau-
The idea of the food truck was born when I thought about the idea of a mobile art installation and I realized that food trucks have the opportunity to do such a thing. The benefits of a food truck would be that we would be able to serve food, create connection through food, and still be able to serve to multiple audiences, without the “secret” getting out.
Its a win-win situation for everyone. The immigrant garners attention and help, while spreading their story pushing more emotion into Boston’s atmosphere. The only draw back of advertisements is that people have gone numb to posters and advertisement, even if the message is impactful the bystander effect takes full swing and people are at peace with ignoring the story.
rant would go to supporting the immigrant of the month and attempt to help them find legal help if needed. Another pro is that all types of people would approach this restaurant, ranging from people that lean heavily right to those who lean heavily left. Everyone loves food The drawback of this idea is that eventually the “secret” would get out that undocumented immigrants are congregating and working at this restaurant. It would create an unsafe space and eventually people who lean right would stop coming, defeating the purpose.
Another benefit is the fact that people will wait an absurd amount of time waiting for their food to come out of the truck. I’ve personally waited up to 40 minutes to get food. People either go in groups or solo; and those who go solo need something to do other than stare at their phones and groups need something to talk about. Providing a subject to discuss such as the menu origin and who inspired it, allows people to discuss the state of how we treat undocumented immigrants.
thefoodexchange
process book
How can desi humanize the undocumente immigrant experience in Boston?
ign e ed
n
solution
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process book
Everyone loves food. It’s the one thing everyone in the world can agree on.
1
2
3
The different people we can reach
The menu never becomes stale
People can take in the information they receive in levels
The audience of Boston is so varied but those who enjoy food trucks is a smaller subsect of each demographic. Those who eat at food trucks are typically those who work 9-5 office jobs and can afford to eat “out” for that day. Plus being able to move around means that everyone has the equal chance to experience the food truck.
Food truck menus never become stale because of the usual staple menu that allows people to create their own meals, supplemented with already created dishes.
People experience things at the different levels. The same goes for a food truck in Boston. The first level is simply being satisfied by the food. The second level is trying to understand the culture that the food comes from. Finally the third is how to create a better conversation around where the food came from and a new acceptance to different cultures.
solution
B E LOW
PHOTO B Y EM ILY FL E TK E
Food truck parked outside South Station
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thefoodexchange
process book
The Business How would this work? NOT HAVING FIGURE D
the name didn’t stop me from thinking about how the food truck idea could actually work. I understood that for this idea to work it would have to create a bridge between undocumented immigrants and the people of Boston. Food would be that bridge. The business would work as follows: First by allowing undocumented immigrants to share their stories of how they came to America with us. The business would then transform this story into a fully functional menu that would live on the food truck. In
At the foodtruck would of course be the food, but more importantly would be a roll up banner with the immigrant of the month’s face and body on it with them staring at you, making it impossible to ignore. The roll up banner would allow people to humanize the experience of eating the food and to realize the story the menu is trying to tell. Secondly the banner is augmented allowing customers if they so choose to place their phones over the banner and allow the immigrant of the month to introduce themselves through a
turn we would use the identity of the person to create advertisements that lead people to the food truck or the website.
video interview, strengthening the connection. The banner is the first touch point in the experience. The second is the menu itself that each menu item is crafted to tell their
story of how they came to America. The third touch point is the food packaging which leads back to the story and points people in the direction of the food truck’s website. The website, the fourth and last touch point, is where customers can see the menu and choose to help people if they so choose. It also allows people to keep track of those the business is helping.
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Levels of Takeaway The main need of the audience is food. They simply come to the food truck because they are hungry. Its a very simple need. My plan is take this simple need and create a more robust experience that has levels of depth.
1
2
3
Satisfying Hunger
A New Conversation
Creation of Empathy
People show up to food trucks because they are hungry. The first takeaway is being full or at least being satisfied. People go up to food trucks looking at menus and seeing if they see anything they like.
The second takeaway is a creation of conversation and discussion. A sense of community as people wait around for food or wait for others to get their food.
Third is a creation of empathy, and/or strengthening of it. Interest to learn more. A questioning of harmful stereotypes and language, and a pathway to learn how to help.
thefoodexchange
process book
that I created in order to be able to visualize the business and how the structure works. From here I was able to make the decision of what parts of my project I could be able to tackle. From designing this flow chart I realized that the most essential parts of my project needed to be the website, the food truck, the food packaging, the roll up banner, and the menu. T HE B U SINE S S PL AN
This visualization also helped me think about the flow of information and how the user would interact with my project.
solution
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thefoodexchange
process book
Interviewing Process Twenty Plus Interviews hear the voice of immigrants, whether they be undocumented or not. Luckily I had over 20 people volunteer to interviewed, through video, paper, or through talking. Creating the interview I started off with multiple questions with no real system or order. I started off with heavy questions and worded things in ways that might have put people off. I understood this when I had many people leave important questions such as whether or not they were documented blank, eventhough the interview was anonymous. The second round of interviews was when I realized that I needed warm up questions to make the person that I was talking to more comfortable with me, and feel free to speak freely. I NE E DE D TO
The essential part of interviewing is that it would allow me to hear what people have to say and hopefully find the person that would become the case study for my project. I needed someone with a strong enough story that I could transform it into a menu and create a system around it. What I learned from the interviews pushed me to think about the American immigrant situation further. I realized that those who have been for a while, and lived within the immigrant community and came here from worse countries see America as the land of golden opportunities and that no one is treating unequally. In the first interviews I had many responses that said that the government treats them very well and that they are
not mistreated by anyone because all are equal in America. I realized that the communities that immigrants gather around can create a bubble. A bubble where the only information that they need is family news, where their next job is coming, and the daily gossip. It makes sense because why should they have to try to learn about American history and politics. Talking to one of my interviewees, lets call her Luciana. Luciana told me that it’s easier on the mind and heart to ignore American politics and issues because that way it doesn’t ruin the image they have of America in their heads. They uprooted their lives to come here, they mentally can’t afford to think negatively of America.
interviewing
Round One of Interview Questions
Where are you originally from? How did you come to America? Why did you come to America? How much time have you lived here? Are you documented, undocumented, or in the process? If documented how long did it take you to gain documents? Has your status ever stopped you from doing any thing, or given you new opportunities? Do you have family here? If you could describe how it is to live in America in one word how would you describe it? How are you treated by those who are from America originally? How are you treated by the local government? How are you treated by the federal government? What’s your main fear about your legal status? How do you feel about current immigration debates? If you could ask other immigrants a question what would you ask?
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Round Two of Interview Questions
WA R M U P QUE STIONS
Where are you originally from? Were you brought to America? How did you come to America—means of travel? Why did you come to America? How much time have you lived here? Do you have family here? What do you spend most of your time doing? What do you do for fun? Are you involved in local clubs, events, committees, politics? If you could describe how it is to live in America in one word how would you describe it? M E D IU M Q UE STIONS
How many jobs do you have? If you are working how many hours do you work a week? Are you bilingual? Can you speak English fluently? Are treated differently then those who can speak english fluently? How do you feel like you’re treated by those who are from America originally? Do you feel like you are treated the same way as an American who was born here is treated? What do you think the American Democratic Party perceives you as? What do you think the American Republican Party perceives you as?
RE AL QUE STIONS
Do you feel you can pass as “white”, American born? If yes do you think this gives you an advantage? If no do you think this gives you a disadvantage? Are you concerned about your legal status? How do you feel about current immigration debates? Are you documented, undocumented, or in the process? If documented how long did it take you to gain documents? Has your status ever stopped you from doing anything, or given you new opportunities?
thefoodexchange
process book
“ I have a two y son that is my and joy, and I up every mor fear that they divide us�
year old my pride I wake orning in y could
interviewing
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thefoodexchange
process book
“ We are all imm some people had roots he than others, i
mmigrants, e have ere longer is all.�
interviewing
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thefoodexchange
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“ Us living here risky, and it’s migrants to b let the world are. We aren’ ers or rapists children and
interviewing
e is already s time for imbe brave and d see who we n’t drug deals, we have d dreams.
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thefoodexchange
process book
menu
Menu Creation After interviewing, I was stuck so I decided to tackle the menu. tackle the menu first as its creation is central to my project. I was able to ask one of my interviewees if they would be okay with me transforming their story into a menu. Her name was Marta and she was from Portugal. Since I couldn’t figure out how to approach the design aspect I decided to design three completely different menus to see which one felt right. The only measurements that I had to go off was the mockup I had purchased that set my dimensions at 12 inches by 15 inches. I DEC ID E D TO
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thefoodexchange
process book
V E RS ION ON E The dimensions are 12 inches x15 inches to fit the mockup that I bought.
menu
Menu this type of menu was a traditional centered style. Inspired from places such as Tatte, and Caffè Nero; where the typography is a centered serif and the design is more refined. THE INS PIR ATION FOR
The issue with this type of design is that it’s not as approachable as I needed it to be. When I showed multiple people they told me that they probably couldn’t afford to eat there, just from looking at the design.
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thefoodexchange
process book
Menu
this type of menu was a bold and typographic approach. I wanted to play with colors and challenge myself to not use black and white in this design to see if I could. This initial design was the one I ended up choosing because it felt the most correct in terms of style. T HE INSP IR ATION FOR
menu
VE RSION T WO
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thefoodexchange
V E RS ION T H REE
process book
menu
Menu this type of menu was a default two colored system that would in theory allow those who work at the food truck to be able to cross out and fill in parts of the menu with a pen. The amount of squares is so that the menu can change according to the ingredients available that day. THE INS PIR ATION FOR
The inspiration also comes from very simple deli menus that almost feel like they were not designed as well. The drawback of this design is that it wasn’t as approachable as I wanted it to be. When showing people the design they liked the blue but felt like the restaurant was too dark and probably belonged at a bar.
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thefoodexchange
process book
Initial Design Project Statement SHORT VE RSION :
( Insert Name ) creates a bridge between the experiences of immigrants, sometimes undocumented, and Boston’s working class through the use of story telling, and a menu that is central to their story LONG VE RSION:
A food truck with two functions. The first function is activism through advocacy. The second function is trying to connect those who are in need with those who can help. The benefit of a portable channel of “information” is that it would eventually in practice create an audience of those who want to learn the stories of immigrants and want to
taste the new menu each month. The stories would be told by placing the story first and the legal status second. The food truck also has the benefit of narrowing on certain target groups in Boston, plus be able to create temporary forms of awareness installations while the truck is parked. The rotating menu would help keep the audience fresh and excited to experience or reexperience the menu and story told by it.
design
Why is this project in the first place? The point of this project is create a new sense empathy steer the conversation of immigration + undocumented immigration in a more healthy and constructive way, and to give people a streamlined way to help.
The location in the city of Boston. I picked these place because I felt that they would have the most impact in terms of reaching the most politically broad audience. South Station: Financial Cambridge Port: Life Science Blossom Street: Medical Beacon Street: Political Copley: Retail & Business Congress Street: Political
Type of language and rhetoric Researching why people were afraid of immigration led to the belief that the language surrounding (Insert Name) needed uplift the stories of these people. E X A M P LE S
Uplifting, not demeaning Informative, not pretentious Advocating, but not the authority
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The relevancy of the project. This subject is current in American politics and graphic design is currently only being used for negative and demeaning manners. There is no reason why graphic design can’t be used to create empathy and emotion. Currently the main emotion and rhetoric is that of fear. Graphic design can tackle this issue by using the same techniques used in fearmongering to do the complete opposite—an opposite where videos are shown to create respect and sympathy; to create an identity rather than rely on a caricature of a whole group of people.
Who is the audience? S UB DIVIS IONS OF AUDIE NCE :
First is late 20’s to 40’s who love immigrants and want to support the cause. Second is early 30’s to 50’s who are on the fence about immigrants and just want to food. Third is early 30’s to 60’s who are against immigration and don’t have all the information. They would all be white collar workers, and be able to afford to buy food for lunch, instead of bringing it in that day. People whose jobs offer a lunch break around 12:00 pm. SYNTHE S IS OF AUDIE NCE
White collar, Financially secure Age range: late 20’s to 60’s
thefoodexchange
process book
Costs
Employment would cost 12 dollars a hour. Purchasing a Food Truck would cost 25,000 dollars for a one time purchase. Getting a Food Certified Commercary License would cost 1,700 dollars for a one time purchase as well. The price of fuel ranges from 1,000 dollars to 3,000 dollars a month. The food truck graphics and maintenance would cost around 1,000 dollars a month. With the actual food costing around a one thousand a month.
Signage
Mobile first because when people are outside they are on their phones and don’t have access to a desktop. In this website would be access to stories, what the mission behind the food truck is, and the scheduled locations. An important function of the website is access to the stories being able to donate to a story to help find a lawyer for their processes, or even offer legal help if you are a lawyer or can help connect with one. Additionally the website would help people see as people’s stories develop.
Collateral
Amigos Locos parked outside
My original ideas for the collateral were: Menu, Food container, Cup, Napkins, Utensils, Bag, Paper Wrap, Table Toppers (trifolds & bi-folds), Truck Graphics, Tip Jar, Window Decals
Boston’s city hall near Faneuil Hall
RIG H T
Roll up banners would cost 80 dollars a month, and they would be augmented with videos.
Website
P HOTOS B Y @T H EPAT IOS
design
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Deliverables And Interviews the menus I decided to tackle the reality of my project and talked to a local chef in Cambridge who is charge of creating pop-up restaurants and is experienced in telling a story through a menu. AS I WAS DE SIGNIN G
We ran through prices and how much money would actually have to be poured into this food truck to make it a real business venture. Secondly I was able to reach out to one of the founding partners of the food truck Amigos Locos, which I found out about because they came to my job during lunch time at the Cambridge Port. They told me ,“the first initial months you would be in debt, but eventually the rotating menu would garner a
healthy following and that’s enough to keep the company a float and make profit.” Talking to both of these people helped me narrow my business further and what deliverables I would have to construct to create a near real company. The pop-up restaurant chef actually told me that the first round of menu creation had way too many dishes. They told me that six dishes were too many for a food truck to keep up and since we were cutting the amount of variability the menu could become more robust and different.
thefoodexchange
process book
design
Naming Naming was very difficult. because it had to do two functions. First it had to have an ode to the idea of food while talking about global. Overall the name also had to be something approachable and not pretentious. Having to find the middle ground of those three things proved to be quite a challenge. The first thing I did was create a mind map and see if I could find any associations that come to mind when I thought of either food, immigrants, or the idea of a global identity. NAMING WAS HARD
The second approach was completely forgetting about it and seeing if the name came naturally to me. This idea did not work as I could not push naming into the back burner of my mind and design other collateral.
The third approach was simply talking to someone who had no design perspective and picking their mind to see if anything came out of it. This proved successful as they would just shout out words they associated with thinking about if it was going to be fun to design or not. Completely neutral and unbiased. The ah-ha moment when we began to consider the purpose of the project. I figured out the point of the food truck was to share stories. Sharing stories is an exchange of words; an exchange of culture. That was the moment we discovered the name: The Food Exchange; telling a story through food of others.
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thefoodexchange
process book
design
Logos So was making a logo. name done, I need to create the logo and how to approach it. I faced a similar dilemma to the naming, I needed to create a logo that could serve two functions: be an approachable logo and be able to hold information i.e. pictures, portraits, videos, and graphics. This sent me down a path of ideation on a massive artboard on illustrator. An idea I had was to convey the idea of movement through the logo. AF TE R HAVING THE
After multiple iterations of trying to create a logo that could convey the idea of movement I realized that the logo could just be a lockup that could move.
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V E RS ION T H REE
process book
design
Reducing The Amount Of Dishes the chef I brought in the amount of dishes I was going to make the restaurant have. By reducing the number of dishes I was able to create more space for design and inclusion of more details. This was the first revision of the menu. AF TE R TAL KIN G TO
Showing this design in class I was met with very interesting feedback. People felt that the black and light blue made the menu feel cold and distant. I was told to bring the color from previous back as they were more exciting. They enjoyed the pattern use on the right border and suggested that I use more of it.
The class also thought that the logo concept was cool but in the current application the read was very difficult. Plus they thought the logo read a bit cold and that uppercase might not be the solution.
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V E RS ION ON E Simple Customized Typographic Lockup
the class I decided that the idea was a good idea so I went into the logotype and made it lowercase and customized the type so that the capital height was lowered and optically adjusted the spacing so that the four “rows� felt balanced. AF T E R TALKING TO
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COPY FROM TY PEWOLF
This is Aktiv Grotesk and Ivar Display
design
Typography AKT IV GROTE SK
is a grotesque sans-serif typeface released through Dalton Maag in 2010. It has been described as a “Helvetica killer.” The designers of Aktiv Grotesk wanted to create something in between Helvetica and Univers by removing the quirks from Helvetica and adding a bit of warmth to Univers. Aktiv Grotesk is one of my personal favorite grotesques.
IVA R D IS P L AY & TE XT
is a serif typeface family designed by Göran Söderström and published through Letters from Sweden in 2017. The design began as a serif companion to the foundry’s sans-serif Siri family but deviated significantly from there. Ivar is available in three distinct optical sizes—Ivar Text, Ivar Headline and Ivar Display—with each optical size available in four weights with corresponding italics. There is also a chunkier version, Ivar Nostalgi, which was influenced by the high-contrast phototypesetting faces popular during the 1970s.
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OR ANGE
E F8 1 6 5
M ARO ON
75142A
GRE E N
1 8 6 D5 6
P I N K
F3 B3 C
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Creating a color palette Having a color palette of pink, green, orange, and tan I still was not satisfied with the palette but I decided that it was enough. After showing the first round of deliverables to my teacher I realized that the color palette looked fragile and that the tan didn’t hold as much presence as the other colors. Receiving feedback from a fellow student they suggested to include the color of red beans, a more maroon like color to contrast with the pink in the palette. This suggestion is what completed the palette and created four colors that could be used in various combinations with each other.
PHOTOS B Y @ TH EC HOPB A R
logo I was developing a color palette. This was one of the first times that I was forcing myself to not create a color palette with extremely saturated colors. My inspiration for this color palette was more muted colors with softer hues. I started off with many colors: tan, blue, green, orange, and pink. After creating this palette I realized that I had no conceptual reason for it. Scrolling through instagram is when I realized that food has an abundant amount of color to pull from. Realizing there is no blue in food photography, with the exception of blueberries that are more of purple if anything, I removed it from the color palette. W HI L E DE VE LOPING THE
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The Use of Pattern I realized the need to include a piece of culture into the design to tie back to the story I was trying to tell. Pattern became that tying piece that I decided would be part of the design system. In theory each time that a new immigrant was introduced into the system parts of the identity would shift to include a pattern that is part of their identity. To be as global as I could be I decided that representation of three different countries from three different continents would be the ideal: one pattern from Portugal (Europe), another from Ghana (Africa), and the last one from South Korea (Asia). The first pattern from Portugal is an Azuleijo mosaic, a tile very well associated with the AS I WAS DE SIGNIN G
country. The second one is a South Korean window design that is seen through out older more traditional structures. Finally the last is the Kente cloth pattern, a type of textile pattern well associated with Ghana.
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Logo Refinement use the logo I had created I realized that while interesting in theory the logo had no legs, and it would be best to scrap the idea for a better one. The better idea being a lockup that placed the emphasis on the words food and change in the name of the logo. The static version of the logo created a double read of the name which I found very interesting and useful for application. Also the logo could be broken apart to hold graphics or picture by separating “thefood” from “exchange.” AF T E R AT TE MPTING TO
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Half of all proceeds go to helping find Marta legal help with her citizenship process and supporting her for the month of April. To help other cases enter our website to find other people like Maria.
CR E ATE YOUR OWN
Cooked
This signature dish comes from when Marta's family would stay up long nights and her grandma would prepare this dish as everyone gathered in the kitchen, telling stories and laughing. Marta's grandma loved making it with chicken, as it was Marta's favorite.
2—
$10
$3
CHICKEN
PO R K
TO FU
BEEF
$10 GF
TO MATO
ONI ONS
POTATO
BROTH
OCT UP U S, GREEN BE ANS, ANC HOVIES
COD WITH CREAM
OCT UP U S, GREEN BE ANS, ANC HOVIES
The one dish that Marta was able to bring with her to America as she got the recipe just as she was leaving to come to the United States of America at the age of 18.
TOMATO RICE WITH FRIED COD FILET TOMATO, COD, RIC E , OL IVES
Cooked with the vegetables from her uncle's farm, this dish holds signifance because it was the last dish she ate in her childhood home before she started to pack up to leave.
VEGETABLES CARROT S
OCTUPUS SALAD
The recipe for this dish comes from Marta's aunt who lived in the center of Lisbon, and made it everytime Marta went over. Just thinking about this dish brings tears to her eyes as she knows it will be a while until her aunt will be able to prepare this for her.
$9
PROTEIN
CABBAGE
3—
DR I NKS
K
À Portuguesa $10
1—
C HE F CR A F T E D
$9
AÇORDA DE BACALHAU BRE AD, COD
This dish holds value because it was the first thing Marta ate here in America, in the new dining room.
CHICKEN
FI SH
VEGE TABLE
BEEF
$3
WAT ER COF F EE
DE S S E RT S
$2 GF
GRANDMA'S PASTRIES
C U STARD, PAST RY DOUG H, C INAMMON
A variation of her most favorite sweet. A recipe only unique to how her grandma made it, Marta's favorite pastry brings back bittersweet memories of happiness and at the same sadness as because of her legal status was not able to go back to Portugal for her grandma's funeral.
design
Final Menu design I wanted to make sure there was a distinct difference between the two sections. The first section is a create your own section where the ingredients remain the same through out all the time but the way they are prepared depends on the culture that we are pulling on. Conceptually, we all have the same ingredients but we chose to prepare them differently throughout the world. Our cultures are different but our ingredients are the same. FOR THE F INAL ME NU
The second section is tied around the theme of dishes that are inspired by the stories that are central to the immigrant’s journey to America. Instead of food descriptions customers will find life stories.
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Design System Designing a system for a community that when represented is put at risk. a face to immigration and humanize an ostracized community would prove more challenging than originally thought. I realized that because of the presence of government agencies such as ICE , putting people’s faces in public would place them in danger. The solution was putting a face, so what was the safest and most effective crop of the face that would create an immediate connection with people in Boston. T RYING TO PU T
I figured out that if I cropped all the pictures so that only the eyes were seen, that would be enough to create a connection with the people of Boston. The eyes are the windows to the soul and it’s hard to ignore eyes that are following you.
This system carried to the idea of migration as the ads carry writing enticing Bostonians to come to The Food Exchange to “meet” the eyes from the poster. I asked my interviewees once again to see if they would realistically be okay with having their face used in advertisements with the context of immigration and sharing their legal status. Most responses were acceptance and realization that most would help. I got the occasional person who was very against the idea. Interestingly enough these were the same people that left the legal status blank on an anonymous interview.
system
For my case study I would show how The Food Exchange creates collateral for Marta, from Portugal, Kwabena, from Ghana, and Min-jun, from South Korea.
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Ad 1
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Ad 2
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Ad 3
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Roll Up Banners the roll-up banners is place these people in front of customers. I observed that people can wait up to 40 minutes for food at a food truck. The banners are there to give them something to do. The banners allow people to see the complete face of the person that was in the ads, completing the experience of migration. Also asking my interviewees they were okay with showing their full face if the context of the food truck is there. Also the banners make use of augmented reality, where if customers download Artivive they can see the video interview and have the immigrant “introduce� themselves to the person, creating an emotional connection. THE PURPOS E OF
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Food Truck I decided to take my favorite combination of colors from the palette and wanted to use the logo as a graphic pattern to emulate the patterns used in design system. The food truck wrap graphic came pretty easily to me because the logo lent itself very well to stacking and being used as a pattern. As for the food packaging, I wanted to use the pattern application to create texture and to create brand distinction. FOR T HE FOOD TRUCK
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FO OD CON TAI NER
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TO GO BAG
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website
system
Website of the website was being able to help those we had placed the spotlight on. The ability to crowd source donators and legal help we can help the immigrant continue with their lives in America. Secondly we want our customers to be able to see the current menu that is being sold. Something to note in the design is that in order to see the menu users have to scroll through the story of the person at the same time. Users do not have the ability to detach the food from the inspiration. THE IMPORTANT ASPE CT
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Senior Symposium Presenting a heavy project poster to designing the presentation I was very nervous. I knew that my concept worked but I had second thoughts about how I was going to be able to talk about all the concept, the business, the collateral, the interviews I did, and wrap in my design decisions. FROM CRE ATING THE
For the poster I knew I wanted to place someone looking back in the design. I wanted the same feeling as the ads that I had created. After multiple iterations I came upon the idea that the most important part of the design were the people that I was talking about and that everything else should just simply frame them. So for the design I placed everything around the person in the middle, creating a
frame of typography. This worked well as I had multiple people come up to me telling that it was one of their favorite posters throughout all the seniors. After rehearsing my presentation with other seniors I felt really good and was ready to present. So as I presented, without keynotes, I was able to make extremely strong points about the current state of immigration and how my project could solve it. Throughout the presentation I had multiple people nodding and agreeing with the points I was making and a couple awes as I showed designs incorporated with concept. The post presentation remarks were quite positive with people impressed with how
much I was able to get done and how everything felt considered and refined. I was asked to see how this project could be used in the future and I told them that throughout this project I learned about the idea of pop-up restaurants and that my concept could be applied in such a way.
Degree Project of Carlos Ferreira, 19 Designed and written by Carlos Ferreira Created in 2019 at Massachusetts College of Art and Design