01 VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
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Gourmet
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GOURMET VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
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Gourmet
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1
GOURMET YESTERDAY
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01-1 OVERVIEW
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01-2 OUR HISTORY
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01-3 TIMELINE
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Chapter 2
GOURMET TOMORROW
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02-1 OUR VISION
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02-2 OUR MISSION
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02-3 NEW DIRECTIONS
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02-4 NEW AUDIENCE
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
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Gourmet
Gourmet was and long has been the market leader. It may not always have sold the most – though it regularly shifted
Explore great tasting food.
over a million copies – but it always was the glossiest, the shiniest, the most
indulgent. Gourmet was a magazine people collected. It was a habit.
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VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
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Gourmet
GOURMET YESTERDAY OVERVIEW OUR HISTORY TIMELINE
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VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
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Gourmet
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01-1
OVERVIEW
Gourmet Magazine (1940 to 2009) was an American food magazine. More than that, one could argue it was the most prestigious food magazine ever yet produced. In 2010, it was relaunched as a website at http://live.gourmet.com. Gourmet Magazine treated food as a part of culture. Though it carried recipes, it was not a recipe magazine. (It was not until 1965, 25 years after it had been printing recipes, that Gourmet even set up its own test kitchens.) Instead, it was more of an “aspirational life-style” magazine, known for its long, leisurely articles of which food might be the focus, or, it might be just a pretext for the article, which veered off in other directions. They sold a fantasy; they sold you what you might create in your life, if only for one brief moment in early summer’s dappled sunlight or mid-autumn’s moonbeams on the bay.
To many subscribers, Gourmet Magazine was above all a “good read”, rather than something you propped up in the kitchen as an instructional recipe guide. Many felt that the best issues of Gourmet Magazine were always the summer ones, which would transport you by rapture to a sunny sidewalk cafe in Rome tossing crumbs to the little birds hopping by. The magazine was also often a work of art in itself, with its full page, glossy colour “food porn” pictures and on location food shots set around the world, drenched in early evening whiteburgundy hued sunlight. Each month’s cover would be eagerly anticipated. Gourmet took such pride in its covers that the subscriber and news stand covers were often different.
VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
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Gourmet
01-2
OUR HISTORY
Gourmet magazine was a monthly publication of Condé Nast and the first U.S. magazine devoted to food and wine. Founded by Earle R. MacAusland (1890–1980), Gourmet, first published in January 1941, also covered “good living” on a wider scale. On October 5, 2009 Condé Nast announced that Gourmet would cease monthly publication by the end of 2009, due to a decline in advertising sales and shifting food interests among the readership. Editor Ruth Reichl, in the middle of a tour promoting the Gourmet Today cookbook, confirmed that the magazine’s November 2009 issue, distributed in mid-October, was the magazine’s last. The Gourmet brand continues to be used by Condé Nast for book and television programming and recipes appearing on Epicurious.com. Since the end of its regular run, Condé Nast has also used the Gourmet brand in a series of special edition magazines, covering niches ranging from grilling and Italian food, to quick recipes, holiday foods, and comfort foods. Gourmet was founded by Earle MacAusland who went on to serve as publisher and editor in chief for nearly forty years. Its first issue was January 1941, and its main competitor at the time was American Cookery, formerly the Boston Cooking School Magazine that had been published since 1896. Much of the content was similar – articles on food, recipes by the magazine, recipes submitted by readers, recipes requested by readers and advice sought by readers. But American Cookery was in black-and-white, printed on newsprint, with smaller pages and content focused on America. Gourmet was upscale, slick, in color, with a focus on Europe and New York City, and most of its recipes carrying French names. Gourmet began publication just before America entered World War II, which brought war rationing. Its upscale audience was urged to save the issues and to use the recipes after the war and rationing ended.
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Gourmet
Today In the aftermath of the announcement that Gourmet was folding, its cookbook, Gourmet Today, released a few weeks before the news, saw a significant spike in sales.[12] The cookbook includes over 1,000 recipes for everything from vegetable dishes to cocktails. In Television In October 2009, Gourmet launched Gourmet’s Adventures With Ruth on PBS as a follow up to Gourmet’s Diary of a Foodie which was also on the public television channel. The show features editor Ruth Reichl visiting cooking schools around the world with well-known chefs. New From Gourmet International Intrigue We’ve scanned the globe for the greatest eats, including international recipes, London restaurants, and top-notch museum dining in the world’s art capitals. Plus: The colorful world of street food, and the most expensive ingredients on Earth.
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VISUAL STRATEGY GUIDE
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Gourmet
01-3
TIMELINE 1940 First Issue The first issue appeared in December 1940 (dated January 1941). MacAusland was 50 years old at the time. That first issue was a mere 48 pages, with an illustration of a roasted boar’s head on its cover. The main piece was on the food and wine of Burgundy. In fact, the early years of the magazine would focus on French cooking as well as eastern American food.
1943 Founder Earle R. MacAusland assumes chief editor position The first issue appeared in December 1940 (dated January 1941). MacAusland was 50 years old at the time. That first issue was a mere 48 pages, with an illustration of a roasted boar’s head on its cover. The main piece was on the food and wine of Burgundy. In fact, the early years of the magazine would focus on French cooking as well as eastern American food.
1941 After 1941 Gourmet magazine, launching its first issue just one month after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, echoed this wartime sentiment. Eschewing fear, trepidation and solemnity Gourmet reflected the tempo of a nation, who on the heels of a Great Depression held great hope for the future. For many, each issue of Gourmet embodied hope, inspiration and the promise of a better tomorrow through refined living – during perhaps the most unlikely of times.
1945 Move into offices in Plaza Hotel, New York City. From 1945 to 1965, Gourmet’s offices were in The Plaza hotel in New York.
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1965
1999
After twenty years, Gourmet Magazine leaves its offices in the Plaza Hotel for new quarters in Times Square, where it acquires its first ever test kitchen.
Zweigenthal. Ruth Reichl becomes chief editor, the first ever from outside Gourmet’s ranks
1983 Chief in-house photographer Luis Lemus dies. He is replaced by Romulo Yanes MacAusland’s widow sold Gourmet in 1983 to Condé Nast, and Jane Montant became chief editor of the magazine.
In 1999, Ruth Reichl was appointed chief editor. She was the first ever from outside the magazine, having previously been a restaurant critic for the New York Times.
1980
2009
MacAusland dies. Jane Montant becomes chief editor Earle MacAusland died in 1980. By this time, the magazine had decisively left its fascination with French food far, far behind. It started focussing on American regional cooking, and Italian food.
Condé Nast kills Gourmet Magazine In 1999, Ruth Reichl was appointed chief One of the final issues, in September 2009, had fashion models cooking in the Hamptons.
1991 Montant retires. Gail Zweigenthal becomes chief editor In 1991, Gourmet was doing well as a business. Advertising pages had increased, as had circulation.
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Gourmet
GOURMET TOMORROW OUR VISION OUR MISSION NEW DIRECTIONS NEW AUDIENCE
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Gourmet
02-1
OUR VISION
OUR SOUL Food is a key to open the door to other cultures. Gourmet magazine presents food from different countries all over the world. People can learn about culture and history through local foods. The new Gourmet will expand beyond the magazine to provide other platforms for experiencing diverse cultures through food. In the future, we will keep the brand soul that food is a key to open the doors of other cultures.
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Gourmet
02-2
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to let people experience the diverse cultures and histories of countries around the world through traditional regional foods.
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Gourmet
BEFORE
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02-3
NEW DIRECTIONS This was our past look. These pictures show how we looked in the past. The key visuals of the old Gourmet showed people enjoying different foods and learning about cuisines alone. The old Gourmet style was a little classical, and just used one way to represent the brand.
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Gourmet
AFTER
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This is our new look. These pictures show our new look. The new Gourmet encourages people to directly experience different cultures through different traditional foods. They not only read our magazine at home alone, but also go out with different people and eat different food. The key visuals of the new Gourmet represent our new style of enjoying food and culture together.
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Gourmet
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Gourmet
02-4
NEW AUDIENCE
Introduction She is 25 years old and lives in downtown San Francisco. She comes from China, and finished her master’s degree in America. When Kelly was a little child, she dreamed of becoming a teacher. Now, she has become a new kindergarten teacher. She is a little nervous because she does not have any experience. She wants to create some funny way to teach children and be a friend to them.
Traits She wants to know what children think. She plays with them and takes them on field trips. She comes from China, and she wants to introduce some interesting and fun Chinese traditional culture to her students. She likes traveling and delicious food. So she likes reading magazines to find some enjoyable places to go. Even if she is busy, she likes cooking traditional Chinese food at home. She likes going to farmers markets to buy fresh food on the weekend. She plants some vegetables in her backyard, such as tomatoes, peppers and corn. Her family teaches her how to plant vegetables in her hometown, so she wants to keep this skill.
Enthusiastic Teacher Kelly Chen
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She plants some vegetables in her backyard, such as tomato, pepper and corn. because she likes the taste naturally ripened foods. She is planning to have a baby. When she has a kid, she will plant vegetables and plants with her children. She wants to inherit those planting skills to her children.
Introduction David is an international student and he comes from Brazil. He studies at the Academy of Art University now. He is 27 years old, and He likes cross-country travel with his friends. He likes taking photos of unique plants.
Traits He downloaded a lot of food apps, and he hopes he can find some local Brazilian food in San Francisco. He likes to join some events about the culture of Brazil on the weekend. He thinks a good meal can make him happy when he is in trouble. His room looks like his family home in Brazil, and he often invites friends to visit his room. He is interested in American culture because he has an American girlfriend. He subscribes to food magazine, and he cuts out pretty food pictures. He also likes downloading different recipe, because they inspire him to cook.
Foodie David
He likes cross-country travel, and he wants to make more friends a long the way.
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Gourmet
Introduction Linda is an immigrant and she comes from Mexico. She has lived in America for 10 years. She has two children; one is 5 years old and goes to kindergarten. The other kid is 8 years old and he is an elementary student. The boys fight every day, and she has a hard time controlling them. She wants to teach them to have more patience and take care of each other.
Traits Every dish is an art for her. She really likes cooking different kinds of food at home and she carefully prepares every dish. She has two children and she needs to prepare food for them. She makes food looks like different cartoon characters in the children’s lunch box every day. She wants her children to speak Spanish fluently, because language is important when you want to know another culture. She has a food blog, and shares cooking videos and recipes. Many people follow her blog, and she teaches people to make authentic Mexico food. She plants corn in the backyard and makes a lot of dishes with corn.
Creative Cook Mom Linda Martinez
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She wants to teach her children some traditional culture from her own country. She wants to be able to integrate into American culture.
Introduction Kristy is a University Professor, of botany. Her grandfather comes from France. She likes spending time with her students and her plants. On the weekend, she likes talking with her plants, because she thinks every plant is alive. She treats plants like her children. They take time and patience.
Traits She is a couch surfer. She likes to live in local people’s houses when she travels to a new county. She likes to communicate with her students from different counties, and she can get a lot of interesting stories from them. She has written a book about unique plants in the world, inspired by the book Compendium of Materia Medica from ancient China. She has traveled to more 10 countries. When she goes to a new country, she eats the local traditional food. She likes planting special plants, such as black roses and green chrysanthemums. She uses plants to make different spices, and she thinks that every country has its own flavors.
Seasoned Traveler Kristy Lee
She likes drinking red wine and reading a food magazine before she sleeps.
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Gourmet
Introduction Kenji is a 5 years old boy. This is the first year he attends to school, and everything for him is very interesting. But few days later, he thinks some classes are boring. He does not want to stay in classroom all day. He likes animals and plants. He likes helping teacher to take care of the small garden in the schoo
Traits Kenji’s mother can speak a language that Kenji cannot understand, and his father can only understand a little. He is curious the color of parents’ hair. His mother has black hair, but father has yellow hair. Kenji loves to eat Kim chi, which it is made by his mother. His mother tells him that Kim chi has traditional remedy. His mother tells him that Korea is his home too. His grandpa and grandma are still live in Korea. He wants to know where the food comes from. He feels different national brands of milk have different taste, but mother does not believe it. Why some children who have the fragrance of curry?
Little Explore Kenji
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The Inactive Person
Introduction Lucy has had very tough year. She wants to leave her hometown, which is a sad place for her. She wants to forget everything and start a new life. She does not spend time at home because she feels very lonely at home.
Traits The reason she divorced is because she and her husband could n communicate. They came from different counties and had different beliefs. She just ended the marriage because she wanted to live her own life. She wants to move to another city, and she is full of hope for a new life. She has started to learn how to cook, although she is not very good at it yet. She shares her marriage experiences online because she wants to help other women. She went to Burning Man last month. When everything was burning down, she felt like she was reborn.
Recent Divorcee Lucy King
She tried to grow plants, but they all died.
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SOURCES CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
http://www.capemay.com/shops/
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http://www.cooksinfo.com/gourmet-magazine
https://images8.alphacoders.com/
https://in.pinterest.com/pin/305681893438106731/
http://static1.businessinsider.com/
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gourmet-Magazine-May/
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uLegEQBRf98/Vovn6rjM9GI/
http://www.argophilia.com/news
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Copyright
2016 Fei Peng
Faye0315@gmail.com
This book is non-commercial project for education purposes and is not intented to represent the Gourmet brand. Design / Fei Peng Class / Nature of Identity Professor / Hunter Wimmer
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