Designing for Impact

A third of the world’s food is wasted annually.

Saving and repurposing just half of it would feed all undernourished people globally.
(Source: McKinsey)

On #WorldFoodDay – and every day – raising awareness and filling the information gaps about food waste and nutrition is very crucial.

When it comes to creating an impact, design is the unsung hero. As Aleena Wheeler says, “Design is intelligence made visible.”

It has the ability to solve problems in ways that instructions and reminders alone cannot achieve. Design transcends ‌language barriers and conveys the message to solve the most critical food issues the world and consumers are facing right now.

Influence of Design on Food-Related Causes

In this blog post, we'll be looking at design innovations to address world food problems.

Imagine using trash bins to raise awareness about food waste.

Or making a simple change in packaging to prevent bread staleness.

From challenging the notion of happiness in fast food branding to simplifying nutritional information, design has suggested the most creative solutions for critical food problems. This World Food Day, let's be more creative to tackle food waste challenges. 

Raising Awareness Through Malnutrition Labels

Challenge: According to Dole Sunshine, an estimated 1.4 billion tons of food is produced each year. Forty million tons of waste comes from the U.S. alone, more than any other country. One of the reasons for food waste was the education gap. They found out one-third of Americans don't make any effort to reduce food waste at home.

Medium: Out-of-Home Design

Solution: Inspired by universally known nutrition labels, Dole Sunshine designed malnutrition labels. They picked the shocking facts about food waste and its link to global hunger. Then trash bags and trash bins were used to make this information visible. In the middle of busy streets, it was a perfect media space for people to stop, read, and think. This urged people to make small changes to prevent food waste and #ChangetheFacts.

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Providing Information by Dialing up Nutritional Value

Challenge: Immune support yogurts aren't a popular category of food items. On top of that, consumers don't always understand the benefits of nutritional ingredients. That's why it's important to simplify complex information. With clear and compelling visuals, it is a lot easier for people to make healthier choices.

Medium: Packaging Design

Solution: Nomadic Dairy used graphics on the packaging to simplify the information. They showed three core immune support components on the packaging instead of a long list. These components were Vitamin-D, Protein, and Gut-friendly cultures. They highlighted the benefit and impact of each component to their consumer using a strength-o-meter.

Eliciting Empathy Through Humor

Challenge: Burger King’s campaign, The Real Meals, aimed to challenge the conventional notion of happiness. It was also a jab at "Happy Meals" by McDonalds. They wanted to promote the idea that happiness isn't the only emotion associated with food. And wanted to acknowledge that people have a range of emotions.

Medium: Packaging Design

Solution: They launched a limited series of "The Real Meals" - which featured 5 moods through 5 packaging designs. It includes Blue Meal, Salty Meal, YAAAS Meal, and Don't Give an F- (DGAF) meals. Each box comes in a color reflecting the mood, accompanied by simple, iconic imagery.

Fostering Sustainable Habits by Freezing Food Waste

Challenge: Wasting food is something we've all been guilty of at some point in our lives. And one of the biggest offenders is bread. A report by WRAP found that 20 million slices of bread are thrown away daily in the U.K. One of the reasons was that consumers underestimated how long the bread would last. This leads to the final slices of bread becoming stale before they are used

Medium: Packaging Design

Solution: WRAP wanted to enhance the appeal of freezing bread to prevent food waste. They approached the bread packaging redesign for this purpose. The new packaging had language and visual adjustments. These adjustments were to encourage freezing end slices of bread to prevent staleness. The packaging design segmented the loaf into 2 sections. The last one highlighted the final quarter as suitable for freezing and later use.

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Conclusion

When designing for impact, it's important to understand that people have different levels of understanding about nutrition and food waste. Some may not know that the problem exists. Others may not know the full extent of it. And some could be struggling to find the right solution for it. These campaigns serve as a reminder that effective design resonates with people. It empowers them to make change, ultimately setting off a chain reaction.

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