The article is written by Darren Foley, Managing Director at Pearlfisher, London

Happy January 2012! With questions on how to feed the growing global population, the obesity crisis and focus on the diets of this year’s Olympian athletes, the subject of food will be big in 2012. And of course, for consumers and food brands, the start of every year brings the inevitable “new year, new start” mentality as we see the influx of diet and healthy food ranges communicated to the max.

Throughout the history of time, perceptions of the body have moved with societal change from an organ of prehistoric survival and fertility to a form of identity and expression in the modern age. Today, the body is at its most complex. The culture of the aesthetic has left the body isolated and dislocated, with psychological and physical anxieties regarding our appearance to the outside world.

Whilst it is a source of life and pleasure, a social connection and a sensory joy, food has come to play a central role in this sense of dislocation and the perception of food has become inherently problematic in western culture. With emotions swinging wildly between guilt, fear and shame, the focus of food has become tangled with weight and appearance and disconnected from our natural tastes and desires. Commercialization and processed fake diets have also distanced us from food and transformed our natural food preferences into thought and worry. With a focus on what has been reduced and taken away as opposed to what can be enjoyed and benefitted from, certain healthy diet brands have created barriers between the body and food.

We need to remember how to worship the body for what it can do—a being of pleasure, identity and strength. Healthy food brands must empower the individual, reviving the enjoyment, pleasure and beauty of food whilst clearly giving us the information we need to make choices. And we are beginning to see savvy brands do this more and more.

Photo: the Food Doctor packaging, designed by Pearlfisher

Waitrose LOVE life have just launched their you count range. The new design uses vibrant colour navigation and food photography that depicts the great tasting food and highlights the calorie count. The design continues the vibrant aesthetic of the Waitrose LOVE life range, emphasising that food doesn’t need to be boring, even if you are watching your calorie intake. Similarly, the brand design for the Food Doctor bonds food and health together through the icon of the apple, an identity that celebrates food and communicates the core truth of the Food Doctor Philosophy—that this is a way of life and not a fad, nor a diet. We also see food celebrated through exciting food retailers such as Eat! Ekoaffären in Stockholm. The retailers branding reflects the brands ethos, which is to inspire consumers through the enjoyment of good quality food.

Photos: visual identity of the Swedish food retailer Eat! Ekoaffären

The future of taste is in the celebration of food. Healthy eating brands need to move from the visual imagery of tape measures, weighing scales and comparing ‘before’ and ‘after’ shapes. These brands have the chance to transform the way we think about food and healthy eating from a feeling of regimented and rigid control into a flexible and easy way of living. From a design perspective, the structure, texture and colour palate of food in its natural state offers a chance to reconnect with food. Brands have the opportunity to realign our requirements with our pleasures to rediscover the value of food, taste, enjoyment and celebration.

About the Author

Darren Foley, Managing Director at Pearlfisher, London, joined the company in 2002 as Realisation Director, inventing the concept of realisation and advocating a design process in which our technical and creative teams work in harmony from the beginning. He has worked in the design industry for close to 25 years, starting out as a junior production artist, and amassing an unparalleled depth of knowledge for the discipline.