FOOD

Food is a Journey / Joe RMIT

[foodbyjeddy]

Reflection

I was quite uncertain about what this semester would entail, especially after the fact that it wasn’t too clear what exactly our main project was. As a result, our group ended up changing what we were doing multiple times. I guess this is all a part of the creative process and even though it is frustrating at times, it allows us to solve problems and adapt our ideas, which usually ends up improving them. 

I noticed that this semester across the board, there was much more of an emphasis on group projects and presentations. While I was daunted by this at first, I came to realise that this is exactly what it will be like in a real world studio environment. I realised that things like public speaking and collaborating with others are skills that are just as important as being creative in the design world and I believe that working in a group has definitely improved my communication and design skills. I was lucky to be working with a group of motivated, creative people and this project over the course of the semester definitely strengthened our friendships, both in our own group and across the whole cohort.

Of course, I felt many of the assignments we were given didn’t actually feel like assignments. The “Meet in a Nice Restaurant” task for example, was so enjoyable that it didn’t feel like work at all and all my friends at other universities couldn’t believe that something of that nature could be classified as research. Others didn’t feel like they were related to design, at first. From the first mention of our brief being centred on food, to the soup kitchens to the end of semester picnic, it almost felt like we were taking a cooking class rather than a communication design degree. Of course, these assignments expanded my mind to what communication design truly is. It is more than graphic design, it is about collaboration, problem solving, planning and resolution, and the depth that these food-based projects took us into with these was really valuable and worthwhile.

The specialist streams I felt were a bit vague in terms of what they were based around, but I ended up enjoying them and I believe they set me up well for next year. I felt that they gave a good idea of our role as a designer working for a client, since we worked with someone else as well as an established company. I was given a greater understanding of my role as a designer and developed a greater sense of empathy for clients.

The end of semester event was a really unique way to assess us and it was really enjoyable. I couldn’t help feeling really proud of myself, my group and my entire cohort, because we managed to create something amazing, we managed to feed 100 people! It was the perfect way to open my eyes to the fact that design is so much more than being creative. I felt satisfied that what I achieved was both complex in a sense of all the planning that went into it, but so simple because of the fact that at its core, we were sharing a meal that we prepared.

[foodbyjeddy]

FOOD event

After so much preparation and effort, it’s hard to believe that today is finally here. I’m so proud of my group and how we’ve come together to create this, and seeing everyone there today was incredible.

I ended up getting to the event early, since I wanted to help distribute the buyers’ guides that had just been printed out. Since we only had about 30, we decided not to put them in the tote bags, since not everyone would get one.

It was amazing seeing each group put together their projects and set up their stations. It really made the event seem like a product of our collaboration and hard work. Everyone was cooperating and managing themselves really well.

I was particularly proud of the fact that we walked all the way to the market as a group, since this had been our group’s idea from the start. We did end up taking a couple of wrong turns but that was to be expected from such a large group. What mattered was the fact that we eventually got there. It took about double the time that we as a small group of six took, which is more or less what we predicted so it was nice to see evidence of our planning coming through.

I felt like being unique so I bought a lemon, which I thought would add a nice zestiness to the salad. Unfortunately, a few others had the same idea. I regretted the decision after I saw limes for sale, which were slightly more expensive but would have added some extra citrus flavour.

We all walked back separately which wasn’t originally what we had planned, but we realised it was the most realistic way of getting back to the Alumni Courtyard. The method in which we actually prepared the salad was a product of communication and collaboration, as we had people setting up the tarp to make it on, chopping up the fruit and shaking it to mix it all up.

Everyone’s contributions worked with each other so well. Part of this was the consistent use of the style guide, but you could really tell that everyone had been working closely with each other to create items that expressed a really happy mood of acceptance. You could see it in the colours and type. That was the vibe I got anyway.

The only downside to this event was the fact that we had so much fruit left over, which went against the sustainable ideas that our group had emphasised. I took some home to eat so it wasn’t completely wasted but in hindsight, $3 may have been a little too much to spend. $1 maximum could have been more suitable, since Jasper bought an apple for forty cents beforehand.

The salad itself was one of the most delicious I have ever tasted and was made all the more tasty knowing that this was the result of a semester of planning and crafting. All of our hard work had boiled down to this. It definitely tasted better than exams.

[foodbyjeddy]

Futures

This was my favourite stream out of all the classes I participated in, because of the crafting element and the journalistic-style of writing. I feel like we only briefly touched on it in the few weeks we spent on it in the course and I am looking forward to pursuing this further next year. The main thing this brief taught me is that it is important to understand the needs of the client, to have a sense of empathy. If you are truly going to meet the client’s needs, it is important to see things from their perspective.

There was a strong emphasis on communication in this brief. The interview meant that good communication skills were essential, as well as note-taking and expression. My conversation with Sarah was incredibly interesting and had a really smooth flow to it. We were both genuinely interested in the other’s song choice and this helped in gaining an insight into the significance they had to us.

I learned that I had to be careful with what I said when writing the recount of the conversation, since it was Sarah’s song and needed to capture her perspective much more than mine. I ended up weaving my views into the conversation a bit, but attempted to portray what Sarah was trying to convey. I had my own interpretation of the song and it brought up different things to me. For this reason, I became aware that the designer needs to work closely with the client to stay true to their needs.

The artefact and recount which I created at the end I really enjoyed doing as they incorporated both hand-crafting and digital manipulation. The most important thing was creating a mood, which was apparent even before you read the words. In this way, I felt I was able to effectively communicate my ‘client’s’ needs.

[foodbyjeddy]

Strategy

I didn’t fully understand this brief and that definitely showed in my marks for this assessment. The most challenging thing for me in this brief was getting my head around all the new language to do with coming up with a strategy for a company. The project did give me an insight into the nature of branding, which I always thought was limited to logos and promotional material. After this project, I fully realise that a brand is an image; the way that something is presented.

I chose to work with the brand Lindt because it is so well-known and definitely has a ‘brand’ that people trust. For example, when I think of Lindt, I think of superior quality chocolate because of the visual language the brand uses to promote itself. Rich hues of gold and royal blues create an image of luxury and the elegant typefaces used establish that it is higher end than certain other brands, such as Cadbury.

Because Lindt is such a successful brand, I found it quite hard to establish a strategy that improved it. I focused mainly on developing the brand’s already luxurious reputation.

I wasn’t too happy about my infographic and it turned out really clunky, I think I tried to include too much and it doesn’t suit that luxurious brand.

I was encouraged to think very strategically with this brief, which in many ways I liked, since there is such an emphasis on creative crafting in the design process. I liked the style of persuasive writing I was encouraged to write in and I know that this style is essential to master as a communication designer.

[foodbyjeddy]

Craft

I have to admit that I didn’t fully understand the meaning behind each stream. Looking back now, I still haven’t fully grasped the concept of them. That being said, I really enjoyed the craft stream. I think the main reason for this is the fact that I was required to use my hands to make something. I supposed it was presenting to us design in its rawest form: hand generated design. This kind of design I find so much easier to work with as I am still trying to get my head around Adobe software.

The project itself was really engaging and I was happy with the final product. However, I didn’t see much relevance in spending two to three weeks doing charcoal and pencil drawing. I acknowledge there is that element of drawing from observation and that sort of thing does take a bit of practice to get the hang of. However, most of the class, me included, did not use drawing from observation as a method of creating our flip books. I focused on a much more abstract style, using only varying thickness of lines from a fineliner to create a flipbook.

I did end up enjoying this project because of its simplicity and focus on hand-made objects. It made me realise that even in today’s digital world, there is still a great need for raw creativity at a hand-drawn level.

[foodbyjeddy]

Cognitive Walkthrough

We’ve done heaps of practice for the event as a small group, but it was good to go over the whole thing with the entire cohort. Our group didn’t have any mock-ups to contribute, since ours is a simple publication and didn’t really involve any model making.

This project has been at times all over the place. Sometimes there has been miscommunication, as we found after we presented our pitch. However, through the use of models and talking through it as a group, we could plan exactly how the day was going to run.

For some reason, looking at the models increased our ability as a group to plan this whole thing out, since we were both listening and watching. It meant that we could throw our suggestions out for quick discussion and because of this, we were able to come to lots of conclusions and made some important decisions about smaller details of the event. We raised some points about how much the fruit might cost and the route we would take, so everyone was on the same page and would know how much money to bring. It also saved time rather than walking all the way out to the courtyard.

[foodbyjeddy]

Buyers’ guide

Today we as a group collaborated on what would become the artefact that we would submit for the food event. The buyers’ guide that we were visualising was leaning away from the progressive idea that we had originally come up with and was now much more focused on sustainability.

Elana was really good at delegating tasks. Because she is so passionate about sustainability, it meant she was really motivational to get the rest of the group on board. It meant our group was great at co-operating and also listening to what others had to say. I decided I would focus on seasonality and the importance of buying fruit during the time of the year that it is meant to be growing. Apart from the fact that it is organic, local and cheaper, you know you’re eating fresh produce.

The benefits that I came up with included:

1. It creates less food miles and therefore less pollution from transport. For example, summer fruits might grow during summer in Australia and therefore the fruit doesn’t need to be imported from overseas. 

2. It means the fruit is riper and fresher, grown in the climate it is biologically designed to grow in. 

3. It’s so much cheaper! Farmers can afford to produce more of seasonal produce because the growing conditions are optimal. This means an abundance of produce and a cheaper price for the consumer. 

4. Seasonal winter fruits such as oranges are rich in vitamin C, which is essential to our bodies to prevent colds in the winter months.

 These were taken from http://www.rebootwithjoe.com/benefits-of-eating-seasonally/ rather than straight from interviews unfortunately, but it was good information that encouraged us to look at the benefits of buying seasonal.

Other elements of the buyers’ guide included buying organic and buying ugly or imperfect fruit. This introduced some really nice watercolour paintings by Kara and Jacinta (I tired but I wasn’t very good) of fruits that might be deformed but still taste good, not to mention are cheaper. Jasper also included some photos taken at the market which really added liveliness and colour to the publication.

We are thinking of printing a few copies to hand out rather than 100, because our focus is on sustainability and we don’t want to waste paper. We will make it available to download as a PDF.

[foodbyjeddy]

Attempting some Interviews

After realising that Above arrows are going to be too difficult to set up and things like stations may make the event too complex, we shifted our focus to sustainability. Like all good design practice, our food project should have a good emphasis on our impact on the environment.

We decided that an infographic would be a great way to celebrate the sellers at the Victoria Market, with information about what they grow, where it comes from and a back story about the people in the business. To get this information we decided, rather than going straight to the internet, we would go out to the market to see if we could interview the sellers for ourselves.

We came up with some questions:

Where does the fruit come from?

How is it transported?

How did you get into selling fruit?

What do you like about the Victoria Market?

What do you do with the leftovers?

Unfortunately, despite Jasper’s polite and non-intrusive attempts to interview at least five different people, we were unable to gain an interview, even though we came at a time when it wasn’t incredibly busy. From this, we realised we had to change tactics if we wanted to create something for the project.

We could have gone online to find out some more about the sellers, but the information didn’t seem as authentic as we would have liked. Since this was meant to be about knowing exactly where the food has come from, we wanted to have those conversations and because that was now impossible for us, we turned to making a buyers’ guide for the project.

[foodbyjeddy]

Progressive

Today after much consultation and collaboration with both Andy and other groups, we came up with a greater sense of direction for our part of the project. I think this was helped by Andy’s suggestion of a location (Alumni Courtyard) since location is integral to our group’s idea.

Basically, our group came up with the idea of beginning at the Victoria Market, buying some food and walking down to the final destination. This encourages conversation and collaboration. We had the idea of buying something really simple for a salad that requires little preparation, has little to no effect on people’s dietary requirements and is inexpensive, so fruit would be perfect for this. Fruit opens up the possibility of other methods of consumption such as juice (made by hand-squeezing, no use of electronics) and skewers, which encourage crafting, effort and make it more than a simple meal.

We actually practised this and it took us (6 people) about 13 minutes to get there. We estimate that for 100 people it might take double that time.

There was also the possibility of having our own personalised tote bags to carry the food in, along with utensils such as skewers, knives and chopping boards. This could be expensive to produce, so we could reuse plastic bags with perhaps an identity group-produced logo embellishment/sticker.

There should be some kind of signage along the way to ensure we know where we are going. This could be something simple like posters at eye level, or more elaborate directional devices such as arrows on the pavement.

[foodbyjeddy]

Presentation Week

This week we presented our pitch, which was basically the idea that our event should have a sense of progression. After presenting, however, we realised that we may have miscommunicated some of our ideas, since we got many questions asked about how exactly we were going to pull off what we suggested.

Since we had progression at the centre of our idea, I thought it would be a good idea to have some kind of directional device to help us get from A to B. At this stage, that meant either around the campus or to and from the Victoria market. Since I’m incredibly passionate about graffiti and street art, I had the idea of mimicking the work of artist Above who creates tiny arrows and places them on the street in spots above eye level. If we did this, it would force people to look up and around them and take in their surroundings, rather than be looking down or straight ahead (or on their phones, as we are too often). This would encourage collaboration and conversation to find these arrows, as it did when we were trying to find Section 8 bar. Of course, there might be legal implications of doing this, since it could be classified as graffiti.

From https://nellyduff.files.wordpress.com/

We also had ideas of creating an app for navigation and setting up stations for our ideas. This would really create that sense of a journey.

However, we did come across some problems, such as:

Wouldn’t a restaurant be too expensive?

How would we get 100 people to move around the city?

What if other people not in the course followed the signs?

These are issues we are looking to resolve, hopefully by simplifying our ideas.

[foodbyjeddy]

Meet in a Nice Restaurant Part 2

Our group decided to go out just for a social occasion. I realised that this would be a great opportunity to document the event, to see how we had progressed since our last meeting.

The restaurant we were originally going to was Mantra, which actually ended up being closed. (I was slightly relieved about this, since it is a vegan restaurant and although it would have been nice to try something new, I was really craving a burger.) As a result, we caught the tram back to Melbourne Central to choose whatever we wanted and still eat as a group. (I was happy with my chicken burger.)

There were a few things that we had to consider with this. We had to check opening times, transport and dietary requirements. These would all be things that we will experience in the food event and it was good that we experienced them now as it allowed us to tackle them as a group and collaboratively come up with an alternative.

[foodbyjeddy]

Food is a Journey

I felt that a lack of a clear goal in mind allowed us to be creative to an extent, but after a few weeks with no real sense of direction I began to become uninspired. Luckily, Andy gave us a bit more insight to exactly what we were doing.

The soup kitchen inspired us to create a similar event that would occur at the end of the semester, but on a much larger scale. We came up with some simple rules about the soup kitchen and how it would be run, taking into account things like preparation, food sourcing and clean up. Elana came up with some great ideas about sustainability and how we might ethically source ingredients, such as using ‘Odd Bunch’ Ingredients purchased from Woolworths, making compost and working with Greening RMIT.

There were also other things that came out of this discussion. Whilst the project is based around food, it should not be the only component of the event. For example, there could be activities, live music, games and creative processes that happen alongside it. Going back to our meeting in a nice restaurant, we realised that the journey to a place is just as important as the destination itself. At the same time, we acknowledged that food is a journey and an incredibly complex one at that. This is one of the conversations we had with Andy, about the fact that food has to be grown, picked, transported, processed, sold and prepared all before it is eaten. We decided that this is something that generally people overlook. At that moment, the idea of PROGRESSION became the driving force behind our idea.

It was nice to finally have a ‘clear sense of purpose’ as said by Gordon Matta-Clark and this brainstorming really helped us as a group move forward.

[foodbyjeddy]

SOUP

I was always reluctant about the idea of coming in on a Friday just for a two hour lecture. Judging by the comments of my friends, I knew I wasn’t alone. It was really good that Andy was able to empathise with the cohort and the decision to make Friday’s lecture more of a session for collaboration was really worthwhile and meaningful.

The soup lunch was a great idea. It encouraged collaboration and a time when groups could meet in an informal setting and come and go as long as they pleased. The addition of soup was really good as it could feel a lot of people and encouraged people to bring their own utensils, which of course makes the process more sustainable.

Ultimately, this little addition to the Studio classes was good preparation for our end of semester food event, since it revolved around the idea of preparing and sharing a meal. The pumpkin soup we had on the first Friday was delicious and was quite zesty. I bought a roll from the supermarket beforehand and it made the perfect lunch.

[foodbyjeddy]

Meet in a Nice Restaurant

Jaimi, Elana and I ‘met in a nice restaurant’ at Section 8 bar/Ferdydukes in Tattersalls Lane. I thought this was a very interesting method of doing research as I’d never done anything like it before. The more I thought about it though, I realised if our project was to revolve around sharing a meal, then our research should involve sharing a meal. It was fitting that we were exposed to the noisy, vibrant atmosphere of the bar in much the same way as we experienced Gordon Matta-Clark’s restaurant video rather than boring traditional research of slabs of information copied straight off Google.

To begin with, it took us quite a long time to find the actual bar itself. We had a rough idea of where it was located, but because of its secluded location, we ended up walking past it once or twice. Of course, this meant we ran into a strange man who asked us:

It was essential that we collaborated to find the actual place, even if we had to use Google Maps to help us.

Once we found it, we were amazed at the interior of the place. We were met with a winding staircase to secluded rooms at the top and a balcony overlooking the courtyard, which looked to be even more exciting, especially with all the unusual décor. It seemed someone had mismatched the contents of a toy box and placed them randomly around the space, which was combined with classical art, sculptures and soft lighting. The hot dogs we ate were really unique; I’m used to having hotdogs that simple have mustard and tomato sauce. Their complexity, along with the experience of finding the place and sharing a meal, made it a valuable insight into what was to come for the end of semester project. It definitely sparked my curiosity.

[foodbyjeddy]

Case Study: Mai Ueda

Out of all the case studies we looked at during the first part of the semester, this is one of the ones I found more intriguing. The video of Mai Ueda’s tea ceremony in New York was done with a mix of artistic beauty and casual ease. It was a perfect way to introduce us to how we might organise our own event.

At this stage it is still unclear what exactly we are doing. But this video gave us an insight into appreciating something as simple as sharing a meal. I know that in Japan, tea ceremonies are quite an important part of culture. Since food is such a huge part of our culture, perhaps we need to slow down and appreciate how, where and what we eat and who we eat with.

I thought the lack of music in the video drew my attention straight to the food, which was quite clever. The entire video was incredibly relaxing to look at. In fact, the second time I watched it in my own time (by myself) I felt tingling sensations as I watched the slow hand movements and heard the gentle clinking of bowls and soft spoken voices.

Even though the food (or tea) was ultimately the main focus of this piece, the setting was tranquil and slightly childish which created a sense of fun and relaxation. I felt a sense of acceptance among all involved in this while watching the video. The wrestling ring was unusual in a sense that it is something I don’t usually associate with food, but it definitely made the occasion unique.

[foodbyjeddy]

My Kitchen Rules / Gordon Matta-Clark

I have never been a huge fan of My Kitchen Rules. I disliked the drama and to be honest had never actually watched an episode in my life. To me, it seemed like the drama was more important than the actual food, which is ridiculous, since it is a cooking show. This was the main reason I watched Masterchef instead. Even though both are reality cooking shows, the latter has more of an emphasis on the food and less (what seems like) staged conflict. It’s almost cringey watching the over-the-top reactions for this final contest and the amount of stage direction means the real emotion takes a back seat to over-dramatisation.

Gordon Matta-Clark’s ‘FOOD’ project was different in every way to My Kitchen Rules. Aside from the fact that the documentary was shot in black and white, the kitchen was so much more ‘real’ than the one I observed on My Kitchen Rules. It made the name of the restaurant even more appropriate; it was stripped down to the pure basics of what it was to have a place to eat. You could feel the grunge and effort in the restaurant, the hardship and stress of preparing a meal, smell the cooking and almost taste the finished product. The imagery was so vivid.

This list of words created so much contrast between the two scenarios and I began to see a pattern. ‘FOOD’ was real; the essence of what it is to prepare, serve and eat a meal. My Kitchen Rules was airbrushed and dramatized, reducing the process to a plasticised commodity.