Foorigin: A Design Awakening Food Consciousness

Lam Cheuk Yin's Award-Winning Design Challenges Food Perceptions

The inspiration behind Foorigin stemmed from the disconnect between consumers and the food they consume. People are accustomed to purchasing food from supermarkets, neatly packaged and ready for consumption, often forgetting about the origins of these products. Foorigin seeks to bridge this gap, not only raising awareness but also challenging people's perception of food by reconstructing the existing food with its original ingredients.

What sets Foorigin apart is its unique approach to raising awareness. Instead of resorting to shocking or disturbing imagery often used by media to highlight the truth about food production, Foorigin uses a more subtle, indirect method. Through a series of conceptual posters and publications, the design reveals the hidden truths of processed food in our daily lives, challenging people's perceptions and expectations of how food should look.

The realization of Foorigin involved a combination of photography and print techniques. The key visuals were created using the original ingredients of food that people rarely know about. For instance, the sausage of a hotdog is made from animal internal organs, and ice-cream is made from animal fat. The printed collaterals used french folding, encouraging readers to tear out the pages and discover the hidden truths of food.

The design project, which started in September 2016 and finished in May 2017 in Hong Kong, initially focused on the vegetarian culture in the city. Through questionnaires and individual interviews with both vegetarians and non-vegetarians, the designer gained a better understanding of public perception towards vegetarianism. This research played a crucial role in shaping the final design of Foorigin.

One of the significant challenges faced during the design process was finding an acceptable way to deliver the message. Highlighting the bloody and disgusting scenes of animal slaughter for a deterrent effect, as often done by media, was found to be hard for audiences to accept and had only a temporary effect. Foorigin overcame this challenge by using a causal yet indirect method to raise awareness, effectively challenging perceptions and encouraging a deeper understanding of food origins.

In conclusion, Foorigin is a unique design project that challenges perceptions and raises awareness about the origins of food. Its innovative approach, combining art direction, graphic design, and photography, provides a fresh perspective on a topic of universal relevance. By encouraging consumers to question and understand the food they consume, Foorigin contributes to a more conscious and sustainable approach to food consumption.