MUSEUM OF FOOD AND DRINK (MOFAD)
Nowhere in the world, apparently, was there a permanent cultural institution dedicated the most ephemeral (but important) things in our lives – what we eat and drink.
The Museum of Food and Drink was founded by a handful of individuals and spearheaded by culinary madman Dave Arnold. We became involved with the group very early on and worked with them on creating the identity and tonality for the museum. The museum had a complex goal: appealing to a wide audience who may not have any interest in food issues, while also being able to stand alongside the MoMAs of the world.
We approached this by creating a brand voice that was authoritative but friendly, a mix of the hard and soft.
The sharing of food is the bedrock of culture globally, and the circle is the bedrock of MOFAD. It is the cup, the plate, the saucepan, the saucer, the globe. Our circle is a container when needed, as well as a stamp and a solid. The MOFAD wordmark mixes hard edges with rounded edges, creating a friendly look that rewards closer examination.
We also build a custom typeface (MOFAD Caps) that expands the semi-rounded wordmark letterforms into a full set of caps for display purposes.
“Willy Wonky meets the Eames” is the vibe of the institution – being playful and irreverent with the material, but being methodical and purposeful and serious in its application. The museum combines public programming with its exhibitions, and the identity expands to incorporate all of these aspects.
The first semi-permanent exhibit was called Flavor: Making It and Faking It, and was all about the flavor industry and how humans perceive test and aroma. At Flavor, visitors could play smell synthesizers shaped like giant arcade cabinets and sample flavor pellets from gumball dispensers dotting the exhibit. Aside from the exhibition and display graphics, we also designed all the furniture and modular surfaces, as well as video components. It was very Wonka-Eames.
The second exhibition, taking place in the same space, was called Chow: Making the Chinese American Restaurant. Chow charted the dark geopolitical history that led to the explosion of Chinese restaurants across the US, while also digging into the some of the mechanics that drive the cuisine, highlighted by a tasteable wok station serving up recreations of century-old recipes from the golden age of Chinese-American cuisine. Additionally, the Museum housed a fortune cookie-making machine that cooked up fresh cookies throughout the day. Visitors could input their own fortunes to be given to another fortunate soul at a different time, and online users could do the same.
Our work with MOFAD was incomplete, as we left to join Complex in 2017. See what they’re up to now.
