WHERE

Sometimes our food world and our design world cross paths serendipitously.

After a few early iterations of a logo, and with an upcoming launch of their new iPhone app and City of Vancouver collaboration, Foodtree asked us to help rebrand.

IDEAS

Foodtree helps people to understand where their food comes from, who produces it, and who handles it as it travels from its source to their plate. Using an open, accessible platform via iPhone app, the intention is to empower people to make informed choices about the food they purchase and ultimately eat.

Although manifest as a website and mobile app to share fresh, mouth-watering photos of food in your community in a fun and simple way, Foodtree is a philosophical and fundamental shift in our approach to understanding the where, why and how of the food we consume. If information is power, then this is one of the key ways we as consumers can control our food supply future. Until we empower ourselves in this way, organic and healthy food will remain a novelty and just slightly out of reach of the mainstream.

Yet, mainstreaming this concern about where our food comes from and what’s in it, is precisely what’s required.

WORK

Rolled out simultaneously for launches in Vancouver and Colorado, we crafted a new logo, complete icon system for the app, signage and materials for on-site promotions.

Inspired by the symbols, styles and ideology of the Homesteading movement, the new identity hearkens to a simpler time of getting back to the land and a self-sufficient lifestyle. The hand-crafting and do-it-yourself ethic also produced a unique aesthetic evocative of an era past, but also in resurgence.

Our future may very well lie in the successful merger of a new integration of technology with the sustainable methods from our past. This is what Foodtree represents and the logo and its application is meant to evoke.

Launch website: www.foodtree.com

As passionate food freaks, it’s all too common to get caught up in the tastes and exoticism of what we are experiencing, rather than in what makes the most sense and is good. In fact, if you look at what makes something ‘gourmet’ these days, more often than not it’s the item that has taken great effort and care to produce and spent the least amount of time traveling from the farm to your table.

A good example of this in Vancouver is asparagus. Ask around and you’d be hard pressed to find someone who can tell you specifically that they’ve even tasted fresh, local asparagus. Seriously. Most of what people buy comes from Mexico or California with little thought to the seasonality, or what was done to it to get it to grow, or survive the long trip here. In contrast, the local season for asparagus is very short—a few weeks at best. If you’re not quick, and early, at the farmer’s market, you might not even realize we have an asparagus supply here!

Enter Foodtree.

Although manifest as a website and mobile app to share fresh, mouth-watering photos of food in your community in a fun and simple way, Foodtree is a philosophical and fundamental shift in our approach to understanding the where, why and how of the food we consume. If information is power, then this is one of the key ways we as consumers can control our food supply future. Until we empower ourselves in this way, organic and healthy food will remain a novelty and just slightly out of reach of the mainstream.

Yet, mainstreaming this concern about where our food comes from and what’s in it, is precisely what’s required.

Inspired by the symbols, styles and ideology of the Homesteading movement, the new identity hearkens to a simpler time of getting back to the land and a self-sufficient lifestyle. The hand-crafting and do-it-yourself ethic also produced a unique aesthetic evocative of an era past, but also in resurgence.

Our future may very well lie in the successful merger of a new integration of technology with the sustainable methods from our past. This is what Foodtree represents and the logo and its application is meant to evoke.

WHERE

Restaurant websites are either really good or really bad. Most rely on a representation of the menu and some photos to capture the essence of the dining experience. The bad ones usually also have some kind of thumping soundtrack better suited to a dance club than somewhere trying to promote good food.

Hapa Izakaya’s existing website was somewhere in between, and in the face in increasing izakaya style dining in Vancouver, not to mention competition for diners in general, needed to do something. In fact, the site belied how unique and incredible the entire experience of dining there is, starting from the unadorned black entrance door.

IDEAS

Hapa Izakaya is a traditional izakaya, a sort of action-packed Japanese bistro/pub serving fancy martinis along with warm home style Japanese food – not the standard sushi fare.

Hapa Izakaya, literally meaning “leaf bistro” is the kind of place that you only know about if you’ve been fortunate enough to have been told by someone “in the know.” Guests there enjoy sharing the hot tapas-style dishes, cool salads and ice cold sake served in bamboo cups.

We quickly dismissed the traditional wood block, Japanese, hand-made paper style aesthetic, plus we knew from our own experiences at both locations that we had to capture the fusion of izakaya with the urban contemporary environment of Hapa. We also had to create a site that would be easy for the client to keep up to date and would rank well with search engines so no run of the mill Flash site for this restaurant!

WORK

The result is a site that remains current and accurately mirrors the experience of walking into Hapa Izakaya, from the dark background (remember that black front door) to the greeting by the chefs and delicious treats that await inside We highly recommend the negitoro, mackeral, ebi mayo, garlic squid and tofu-cheese. Yum. Oh, and when you’re there, buy the kitchen a beer—it’s fun to watch.

Launch website: www.hapaizakaya.com

To celebrate the launch of Internet Explorer 8 in France, Windows has joined forces with…Speed Rabbit Pizza, a leading pizza company. Explore and devour the IE8 pizza!
8 slices, 8 ingredients, 8 euros. I can totally see the rational here! Double cream, mozarella-cheddar, reblochon, blue cheese, goat cheese, tomatoes, peppers… Can’t wait for the WhiteSpot burger 3.0.7.

Have you ever wanted to eat at a fancy restaurant but afraid to spend a huge chunk of your paycheck? Well, stop spending money on strippers! Just kidding…

Dine Out Vancouver is back again. With over 180 restaurants, starting on January 14th – February 1st, people can enjoy a three-course dinner for $18, $28 or $38 per person.

This will be my fourth year participating and I find it this event a great excuse to try out new restaurants. In fact, Todd and I will be joining Alex and his lady love on a double date at DB Bistro Moderne. Bittersweet Chocolate Coupe, Praline Feuilletine, Coffe Ice Cream for dessert sounds good to me. We’ll be posting our experience on Foodists, so be sure to check back in a few weeks.

WHERE

Following the launch of the Industrial Brand blog in 2004 we quickly realized that food and drink was so much a part of our lives it warranted the creation of a completely separate venue for the topic. Thus, in January 2005 we launched “In The Kitchen: Gastronomic adventures and insights from the minds at Industrial Brand Creative”. With a focus on food and dining in Vancouver, the blog also chronicled subjects of general food and cooking-related interest in both daily briefs and longer articles.

Once we started inviting others from our peer group into the fold to write on the blog, over time it became apparent that it had outgrown its life as merely an extension of Industrial Brand. As such, we set out to create an new identity for the blog, one which would give it independence and more accurately reflect the vibe of its many contributors.

IDEAS

The first task was to create a new name. Brainstorming with our core contributors many options emerged, some serious and others either hilarious or inappropriate since we wished to be regarded as a credible source of food and related information. Having identified our key message as “We’re so passionate about food we worship it”, the name Foodists was decided upon. Foodists links our passion for food to something akin to the level of worship; it’s about our collective devotion to making, eating, enjoying, sharing and exploring good food and drink.

To accompany the new name we created a fun, friendly logo featuring a portly, smiling Buddah-like character so excited about food he’s levitating (who hasn’t had that feeling before, during or after an amazing meal?).

Rather than simply re-skin the existing build of the blog with our new identity, we recognized the potential to create a unique, functional, interesting design to impress readers, potential advertisers and food (and design) industry folks. The new design also allowed us to continue with the diverse range of content spanning new food discoveries, adventures, travel, products, reviews, recipies and more, and have it organized in a practical and engaging way.

WORK

What has emerged is Foodists.ca, with its playful identity and simple, colourful layout designed to provide friendly appeal to a broad audience: like-minded, passionate food worshippers with enlightened appetites. Instead of opinions, the site offers “meditations”. Rather than recipes or tips, we share “guidance”. And, as opposed to the standard product or restaurant reviews, we celebrate our finds in the “worship” section.

Posts have increased dramatically, as has the site’s audience. We are planning further updates and promotions, including our first contest/give away with a prominent cookbook publisher. Stay tuned.

Launch website: www.foodists.ca

Those of you who know a thing or two about us know that we’re very much into our food. You might have perused this blog and noticed a distinct absence of food-related posts. The reason is that some time ago we decided the topic was so huge for us that it deserved its own space, hence the creation of Industrial Brand’s In the Kitchen blog.

Over time, all our Foodie friends started to join the fold and post to the site because that was what it was about – sharing our food experiences with our other passionate friends. They techincally weren’t a part of Industrial Brand though and that posed some problems moving forward with the project. Thus, we made the decision that In the Kitchen would morph into an independent online food blog and stand alone from the company. We renamed it Foodists and have completely re-conceived the site, organizing it in a more graphic and compelling way.

The new site has its own playful identity and simple, colourful layout designed to provide friendly appeal to a broad audience. Instead of opinions, the site will offer “meditations”. Rather than recipes or tips, we’ll share “guidance”. And as opposed to the standard product or restaurant reviews, we celebrate our finds in the “worship” section.

We guarantee you’ll be hungry within a few minutes of reading.

Nearly everyone knows we’re partial to small furry critters (which reminds me, we need to have another Hamster Party soon) as well as passionate foodies. But we seldom get to combine our love of food and rodents, though we’ve been told folks down south still enjoy a tasty Squirrel now and again.

Now’s the time to elevate that most tasty of tree dwelling, nut-lovers, the mighty squirrel, to its rightful place on our dinner table. So grab your rifle—don’t forget to check your safeties—and let’s go hunting for fresh meat to make squirrel sandwiches with! That’s right, squirrel! If you want to really take it to the next level, here’s a video demonstrating how to make squirrel melts! Don’t forget to add some pecans ’cause you know how much squirrels like nuts! Perfecto!

They make great weekend snacks! Nutritious and tasty too!

We love coffee in the studio—it’s a part of our foodie culture at Industrial Brand. In fact, we’re hard at work designing a new brand identity, collateral and packaging for a local gourmet coffee consultancy and retail franchise right now. So, as you can imagine, we’ve been researching, buying, evaluation and DRINKING more coffee than ever before. Is twitching and grinding your teeth a sign you’ve had too much caffeine?

I was particularly interested when I heard that our friends at TAXI Advertising had opened a full-on Cafe in what would normally be their reception area. Here’s an article on www.coffeevancouver.ca that describes the space. Maybe as we prepare to launch the new Industrial Brand identity we’ll open a small cafe of our own serving a custom roast of our own blend of coffee? (Oh man, I’d never get any sleep).

Fame and fortune oftentimes brings trouble for those not grounded enough to handle it. Hell, even then the most innocent and well-intentioned have fallen into the dark side. Probably tough enough for a human to stay on the straight and narrow, so it’s not all that surprising when you are already vermin. Such as when Steve the Ginger Squirrel of Bo Selecta fame gets into a little hot water in his Ferrari…

Actually, this scene is from a Flickr set called Squirrel Stories. A woman whose yard was overrun by squirrels sets them up for often hillarious scenarios and then catches them in action. Good for a Monday morning smile, but kind of making me hungry too.