DNAD – Pantone: Recolour Your Hometown
Task
This project was a collaborative effort with Joanna Lim, where we merged our design expertise to effectively capture and communicate the essence of Singapore's cultural diversity.
Singaporeans like to define themselves by their gastronomy and this little red dot is called a food capital for a reason. Singapore might be a small country but it houses a large variety of food from all over the world. It is no wonder that eating is the national hobby. That being said, Singapore’s food culture is a result of its diverse ethnicity. It is the mix of all the different cultures in Singapore that gave birth to the uniquely Singapore taste.They say food is the essence of a culture and in this city of diversity, food connects them all. That is why Singaporeans are so proud of their food. It is the window to its vibrant culture.
As a multi-cultural country, the food packaging are widely influenced by the native of the culture. For example, banana leaves are used in the Chinese and Malay culture for food take-aways. Brown paper tied in red rubber bands are also widely seen in Singapore. In the past generations, recycled metal tins were used to takeaway hot beverages from the coffee shop. In recent years, they have been replaced by styrofoam and plastic containers. We hope to celebrate Singapore’s vibrant colours and identity through these unique take-away packagings.
Apart from food packaging, the naming conventions for food and drinks in Singapore are uniquely local as well. For example, Chinese tea is commonly known as ‘Tiao He’ which means ‘fishing’ in the Hokkien Dialect and Horlicks as ‘Dai Ga Hou’ which is essentially a greeting in cantonese for wishing everyone well.
To tackle this brief, we hope to introduce Singapore’s culture through the vibrant colours of the local food. In Singapore, food is the marriage between the different cultures. While there may seem to be a bipolar difference between each culture, the local delicacies is a harmonious blend of flavours. If the staple food acts as the canvas, the condiments are the colour palette. The local drinks are displayed in local packaging and introduced in vernacular to educate people about Singapore’s unique culture.
The responses are educational posters of the food culture, as well as an interactive mobile app that reintroduces the eating experience in Singapore through the language of colours.
வணக்கம்! Apa Kabar? 您吃饱了吗?*
“We are what we eat” and Singaporeans are definitely a unique bunch! Just like our nation, our food is a marriage between many cultures. While there may seem to be a bipolar difference between each culture, our local delicacies is a harmonious blend of flavours! If our cup is the canvas, our local drinks will be the palette. Experience our culture and let us colour your palette!
*Hello! How are you? Have you eaten?
pronounciation: Vanakkam! Apa Kabar? Nín Chī Bǎo Lè Mā?
Singapore’s food palette is a food search application like no other. It acts as a visual guide to the location of mouthwatering local cuisines in Singapore. The unique feature of this application is the way users search for their food. Apart from searching the name of the cuisine, users are encouraged to search based on the food colours that they want to eat.
As this project is targetted at people who are unfamiliar with Singapore, we hope to inject a fun way to explore the food options available here. Food description will be added to each food listings and tourists will not have to bother with food itinerary as they will be able to take on an experiencial and experimental way of experiencing our local food.
