Edible Insects

Posted on

Derrick Lin

Global

Design: Ghada Wali
Project Type: Student
School: Istituto Europeo di Design IED Firenze
Course: Graphic design Degree
Packaging Content: Edible Insects
Location: Italy

Insect-protein industries are growing, this is one of the strangest/challenging projects I have worked on, How can I ever make an Edible Insect brand feel appetising/or lets say less disgusting?! The beauty in the details of insects was the insight to build on the visual identity. The biggest challenge is to create an appeal rather than develop repulsive insectological associations and not to shock unprepared consumers with options for serving, and to use illustration to communicate beauty.

This project is about creating the packaging and the visual identity concept for an edible insect brand. The main challenge is to transform the association of disgust into beauty. Thus, the visual solution is based on a handcrafted illustration demonstrating artistic take, colour and detail.

It creates a break through in the introduction of insects edible products in a Western market .Edible insects have a huge culinary potential that is only beginning to be explored in the West.

The definition of a brand is an open elusive concept; it has no specific boundaries or interpretation. A corporate identity is not only created to communicate a tangible product, in many cases it’s a service, a producer or even a person. A ‘functional’ brand identity is in my opinion communicates the brand personality, brand promise, unique selling point, and most importantly a brand that ‘honestly’ sells. Nowadays, a successful identity mark is not only about visual communication, it is about a real user-brand experience. A good brand identity is the one that does not only use appropriate well-designed concepts, logotypes, picture-marks, typefaces or colors but also a one that is able to go far beyond the tangible brand assets, such as the ethos, ambiance, brand strategy, consumer perception, corporate behavior, that surround their product.

Real brands are ones that leave marks in people heads, the ones that interact, solve a problem or make their daily lives easier. “From the people, by the people, to the people.” is a great motto that I always keep in my head while working on identity projects. In my working process, Spending time of research and inspiration from the actual thing (people/place/product/service) I am working on is an essential asset to producing real, relevant and honest story-telling designs, People (consumer) for me constitute the main drive and cause of any design project I’m about to embark.

I chose to spend time to study and explore their behavior, where they talk about their experience in the place and their real stories. Observing, recording, taking notes, taking pictures, running surveys, interviews etc. This process, which in turn inspires and expands the horizon if any designer in building a great successful brand. Of course in our very fast moving world, not all tasks I am assigned to could have a flexible timeline for a full satisfactory journey. However, working in advertising has made me work effectively under a pressured working mode that requires fast and constant results in best qualities. It’s all about building relationships, catering towards serving customers’ emotional needs. More than selling a function, brands should sell ideas, belief systems, and ethos.

Choosing to become part of this world is choosing a brand for life – hence brand loyalty. Brands should study and appeal to their customers’ changeable states, they should customize their looks and features accordingly and resonate with a direct emotion. Then, the single-minded response for a ‘buying’ action no more stands for logical reasons, rather becomes beyond rationale sometimes. The first and main manifestation of reaching this is through customer’s first interaction with the brand – “sight”, the visual language – branding. Brands should customize stories that intersect with their customer’s daily journey at important and intimate moments.

Other than design should address to the consumer not the product, design should leverage on the medium used to maximize efficient communication. With a world over bombarding information everywhere, the attention span is diminished so Brand Design should focus on minimal yet impactful use of image and text to maintain strength and power; maybe even simplification to clear iconography is needed. If a question is raised through brand design then this will enable more consumer interaction and will create conversation. Visuals should ensure more than an appeal but a deep mental immersion to the world of the Brand.