THE TASTE OF THE WILD AWAITS YOU
Brand Identity, Creative Campaign
Rebranding a Food Marketplace Start-up
Foraged Market began small, but took on big issues. Trying to counter the troubles produced by our industrialized food system, they wondered “what if people were given access to fresh, seasonal, unique, and nutritious foods in a way that connects them directly to the landscapes and producers they came from?” So they set out to do just that; to empower small-scale food producers to grow their businesses and nourish others, while enabling everyday people access to hard-to-find foods.
Brand Identity & Strategy
Copywriting
Illustration
Web Design
Video
Campaign
Client: Foraged Market
We were tasked with designing a visual identity and system to reflect their mission. It had to clearly communicate what the team at Foraged was doing in a way that set them apart from other online food marketplaces.
We began looking for inspiration by looking back in time. Studying styles from the stenciled typography that lined wooden food shipping crates to the commanding monolithic grotesque faces that were popularized in the late 19th century. Continuing back, we turned our attention to botanical journals and herbarium catalogs that capture the inquisitive and nurturing relationship foragers and natural scientists have historically maintained with the flora they study. The employees of Foraged and their network of farmers and foragers embrace that same type of relationship today, so it was key that we captured that in the brand identity.
Pulling from our inspiration, the Foraged lockups present a modern approach to an aesthetic from a time where the connection to materials was much more tactile. Fitting seamlessly into a scalable system, the marks stand distinct and strong, helping to differentiate Foraged from the rest in their industry.
The typographic system for Foraged calls on two historical typefaces; Champion Gothic and Caslon Ionic. Champion Gothic, inspired by the large set wood typefaces of the turn of the century, is used as the display typeface. It ensures messaging commands attention while its variation in widths serves as a mimetic device for the diversity in nature. Caslon Ionic is used for body copy and supporting type. Referencing type set in botanical journals and encyclopedic volumes, it serves as a clean and clear communication tool grounded in retrospection.
When deciding on color, it was clear we should look to nature for inspiration. While the core palette sticks primarily to a monochromatic pattern of greens for consistency of brand voice, the secondary palette branches further out into the diverse colors seen throughout the natural world.
The way we show ingredients aims to represent the intimate relationship between forager and nature—a knowledge that comes from careful study and time. A diverse set of illustrations mimic watercolor botanical drawings that are common among botanists and naturalists in the field. We didn’t want to be limited to a defined set of illustrations, so we tried to strike the same tone when approaching product photography on the marketplace.
Since refreshing the Foraged Market brand identity, they’ve seen tremendous growth and success in their industry. They’ve capitalized on recent venture capital that has injected an additional 3 million dollars into the business. Since launching the refresh, Foraged has also seen repeat customer rates increase over 1,000%. The Foraged Market team has been ecstatic with the results and the work has earned us Silver and Gold in Illustration and Brand Identity categories respectively at the 2023 Broderson Awards.
Foraged Market came to us to concept and develop a brand awareness video that would run on YouTube. The goal was to target and explain the marketplace to buyers while creating a narrative sellers could envision themselves in.
As a means of communicating what Foraged is all about, we knew that we had to build a world that spoke to the essence of the brand and platform. Playing off some of the elements in their brand, we developed a collage style art direction that allowed us to bring a surreal and grandiose vision to life. We wanted to communicate the exciting and exploratory nature of their marketplace while also conveying the transparency and accessibility central to the marketplace.
