The Taste of Friendship
We have a new look. No one notices new looks nowadays, least of all a new look for a not-so-old brand. But our new look is not about looking new. It is about friendship and generosity, and the gifts that followed. For this reason, it is noteworthy.
And this is how it all began:
It has been bothering us for a while, there is something not quite right with our look and feel. Mixing Spanish, English and French, we wrote on WeChat one evening to a friend for help:
FB= Florent Bonnefoy | AH= Alice Huang
FB: Hola amigo, my Spanish sucks, buddy, please remedy the ugly logo situation.
AH: The journal is really borne out of our friendship and our shared intention to have some fun feeding our own mind. It’s kind of easy-going and spontaneous even as we maintain a rigorous standard with our writing.
FB: We are hoping that FOOD+ would exude a sense of wonder (as expressed via the diverse range of topics we explore), and generosity (involving contributors and ideas from others).
AH: We don’t want to be like The Economist of food affairs, you know. So, less a news journal shall we say, more an exploration of how people and food come together.
FB: Besides Medium, we are thinking to use the logo in our email signature and on our website (at some point). One day, we will use it on a LinkedIn and Facebook page too, oh, and WeChat. We are dreamers.
AH: We’d eliminate the word “The” in front of FOOD+. Too formal, and solemn, we think. So just FOOD+ and one day as we dream on, “FOOD+ event”, “FOOD+ award”. So currently it will be “FOOD+ Journal”.
FB: You get the gist, hombre? We are so grateful.
It was late and Momo was asleep. Upon waking up and reading these messages, our amigo did not hesitate or procrastinate but immediately set about to work. Hours upon hours he sat at his computer, after dinners and before going to work, on weekends and over holiday. When he was finally ready, Momo presented us with not one design, but four gifts.
A friend’s generosity
The gift of balance
Exploring the notion of balance, Momo connected seemingly opposing tensions that exist between the bold and the regular, all caps and lowercase, normal and italics, san serif and serif to demonstrate stability, project confidence and suggest solidity.
The gift of imagination
Like pairing wine with food, Momo played with the augmented titles. The new augmented title, maison, conjures up the idea of home, in which one can choose to read (journal), mingle (events), or celebrate (awards). It fuelled our imagination that one day, in addition to reading, mingling and celebrating with FOOD+, the community could listen (FOOD+ voices), watch (FOOD+ tv), rest (FOOD+ retreat), and experiment (FOOD+ lab) under one roof.
The gift of good hosting
Inspired by Alice’s social media handle yellowskybeautiful and a wink to Florent’s favourite snack, olives, Momo gave FOOD+ a palette of simple, enigmatic and contemporary colours -in muted tones, so that they would host and show off most visual subject matters well and let these materials shine.
The gift of courage
Just as we thought Momo has reached the finishing line of his creativity, he came up with the inspired idea of a thin underline; a device we could use to elevate photographic content that would evoke different feelings and emotions surrounding people’s relationship with food.
In this example, the image of steam becomes a vehicle for sensations; it suggests as much the perfume of food ingredients as it evokes in the mind the heart-warming image of cooking together in a kitchen.
Momo wanted the choice of photography to enable the brand to take on different meanings, and in this way, the territories that FOOD+ dares to explore in the future is only limited by the extent of our courage.
Momo’s four gifts will serve FOOD+ for a long time to come because these are not just elements of our look and feel. They are in fact reminders of the values that we should hold close: treating the subject matters we cover with a balanced perspective, hosting others’ contributions well, always using our imagination and never be afraid to explore. And remarkably, all this was unveiled to us in this magical manner, through a generous act of friendship.
It is perhaps now time we introduce you to our amigo, Momo Estrella the gift-bearer, and for him to share his heart’s desire for his design.
Momo and his wish
“Hola! I’m Momo, an Ecuadorian designer living and working in Shanghai. I specialize in interaction design and digital strategy, and I’m currently working at IDEO, in China. On my personal side, I’ve had the pleasure to work on small projects to help emerging ventures to express themselves in the world through branding and experience design. Despite having a few good years in my career, at the end of the day I’m just a guy that really enjoys creating things for people.
Part of what makes my life in Shanghai interesting is the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people. The most curious friendships often arise from such places of chaos, confusion, work, grit and passion. Florent and Alice are a prime example. We met over an opportunity where chaos, confusion and work entailed, where grit and passion prevailed and friendship ensued. They both are curious, driven, intelligent, and with a unique sensibility to venture-building and sense-making of the future.
My relationship with food has always had its ups and downs. The FOOD+ journal caught my attention because this to me was an opportunity to get to work closer to people whose relationship with food would inspire me to think differently about the role it plays in our society, our economy, and our palate. My belief is that the more you explore what food is, how it is made, what it means across cultures, or how it affects our bodies, the more importance it is going to gain in our life. Eventually, food becomes a passion. Not body fuel.
So, my hope is for more people to engage with FOOD+ and its multiple future expressions, and in this way, enable it to live up to its mission of celebrating the beauty and joy of food, restaurants, chefs, and all that stirs the palate, the mind and the imagination. Like a plate presenting the finest piece of meat or a glass holding the most distinguished of wines, my wish is for my design to ‘disappear’ and become a supporting vessel for such beautiful content.”
In the past year, the journal has covered topics to do with world food, dining and food future. Are there topics you’d like FOOD+ journal to explore in 2019? Please send us your ideas below. And if you have contribution you wish to send to the journal, please email the editors here — you can be sure that we will treat it with the values we hold close. You can now also follow us on Instagram:
