RETHINK THE FOOD LABEL

As part of our project, the Rethink team has joined forces with designers at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.Led by graphic design instructor Gerrardo Herrara, the college’s social impact design department, Designmatters, in partnership with the Graphic Design department, set out to redesign the nutrition label and rethink food packaging to help consumers make more educated decisions about what, and how, they eat.

The school’s four person design team includes Kenji Huang, Shirleen Lavalais, Joy Lin, and Jim Bogenrief and they have been working on their designs since May. The designers each chose to focus on a private label brand including Walmart, VONS, Ralphs and Target.

Their work goes beyond the parameters of our redesign the Nutrition Facts label contest, but we wanted to showcase their designs here because the basic concept is the same — that the way information is represented visually influences how we navigate the world around us and how we make decisions.

The work below represents their midterm review. We will post their final designs in August when their course is complete.

Designer: Kenji Huang, Product Design student

“It’s a beautiful morning and it’s breakfast time but what’s really going into my body?Reinventing a new private label brand for Walmart investigates just that. The new Walton’s brand incorporates healthy living by making the front of the package and the nutrition label part of the brand identity, and by developing a more friendly and accessible nutrition quick facts system on the side or back. The brand also infuses my design philosophy of purity, discovery, joy and empowerment.”

Designer: Shirleen Lavalais, Graphic Design student

“Creating a private brand for Ralph’s supermarket (with special emphasis on the nutritional facts) is a great opportunity to share the history of a store that has been a staple in California for 125 years. The nostalgia inherent in classic Americana is the core inspiration for the design, but it will still provide modern, health-conscious customers with easily-digestible nutritional information.”

Designer: Joy Lin, Environmental Design student

“Coastal Catch, branded for Vons supermarkets, brings attention to the nutritional and sustainable aspects of consuming seafood. While capturing the vitality and essence of oceanic fishing, the design reveals exactly what your seafood is, where it comes from, and what it can do for you. With these facts at hand, you can then make holistic, informed decisions about the seafood you buy and eat.”

Designer: Jim Bogenrief, Graphic Design student

“This project focuses on utilizing a private label brand to revitalize the highly scrutinized meat industry. The graphic language, packaging forms and the strategic use of nutritional information are all used to educate the consumer about the health benefits received from incorporating meats into their diet. The product is branded as a private label brand for Target, and as such has the ability to reach a huge demographic.”