collab project: food branding pt. i

{25/11/13 - 29/11/13}

DAY 1

The morning portion of the first day of food branding was so figure out what kind of food to brand and so I began by making a mini brainstorm of foods from different origins, I looked at a variety of food that people fairly enjoyed. The questionnaire sheet given by Andrew helped me come up with different cultures and have a clear understanding of thiss project. My initial idea was waffles because it's a sweet snack that can be paired with savoury and sweet sides and so it's ideal to be presented at a food stall as it gives the consumers the range of choices to tickle their taste buds. It was great that I generated an idea fairly quickly and began acting on it by researching more about waffles and other combinations I have never heard of.

 

With the help of the internet I was able to find multiple waffle combinations, I looked at both savoury and sweet. At first I was hesitated to do combinations that require a lot of time to make and present it in a nice matter, and so I focused on one or two flavours to company the waffles. However I discovered 'Taiyaki' which is a Japanese fish shaped waffle with filling inside, it is similar to waffles and it was something that is rare and perhaps refreshing in the food market. From then I looked into the different types of filling in these taiyaki, it is commonly has a azuki (red bean) filling which is widely used in Asia. I was hesitated to include this into my project because of the misunderstanding of 'bean' of being savoury and not commonly used here, but it gives a sweet paste to the bland waffle. I didn't disconnect the traditions of taiyaki and so I kept it so it promotes tasting the authentic flavour of taiyaki. Red bean isn't the only filling as taiyaki has been modernlised(?) during the years and there is sweet potato, sausage, chocolate, cheese and ham etc. And so it's easy to play around with flavours like a normal waffle.

What I personally like about taiyaki that it meets the requirements of a street food which is; -

• Quick to make within minutes (like a normal waffle)
• Fresh, served hot (people can see the art of creating taiyaki)
• It is a uncommon food from Japan which is unique and can be the selling point
• Variety of fillings to fit everyone's choice
• Emits a playful snack (fish shaped can appeal to children more)

DAY 2

[example of analysis]

I continued my own food branding by coming up with a name, I was quite clueless to what I wanted to present but I think working with the title once I have one is much easier to do. So I looked at origins of literally meaning of 'taiyaki' (Tai - is a Sea Bream / fish which symbolises good fortune, hence why it is fish shaped & Yaki - fried/baked) and the origin of where and when taiyaki was created and by then I had a lot of key words to play with. My chosen name is 'Taiyaki Time' because it shows alliteration and having the original name of taiyaki shows a cultural background, I chosen to use colours as a way to represent the Japanese culture to enforce the name.

I used marker pens to help inject colour and the boldness I wanted as a logo, I experimented with type. Andrew and I particularly liked the type on the right as it resembles the city which reflects the way people see Japan as the city of the future, and how the 'y' looks like a yen symbol which is currency in Japan, it was so interesting to see those aspects and how it fits perfectly to my food branding.

DAY 3

For the third day of the food branding project I visited the Barbican Art Gallery, I have never been here before and so it was very interesting to explore the actual building before my time slot the Pop Art Design Exhibition. I used my time wisely as I wait and I looked at my surroundings, it was intriguing about the building and the interior being part of branding too. It had a colour scheme that was seen in all levels and have the continous theme of curve edges and the use of lights.

The pop art design exhibit was very interesting and holds a variety of 2D and 3D work, during my experience it was so hard to keep my eyes onto one work since there were to many displays to discover. The exhibit was divided into ways of pop art has influenced(?) or shown in a particular topic such as Outdoor space etc. By being exposed to this exhibit it has given me ideas from inspiring from what I have seen and apply it to the project.

I personally like the pasteries food stalls, food that has been baked (pasteries, cookies, cakes etc) is very appealing to people because people can play around with display and neatly arrange it to have the right amount on show, because these types of food has been decorated beforehand, it already displays colour and freshness to the consumers.