Creating a smarter food label

November 9, 2011  |  Length: 00:02:05

Graphic designer Renee Walker says current food labels can be confusing and should instead focus on ingredients. She shows SmartPlanet how she created a new design based on blocks of color.

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+1 Vote
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Counterproductive, I expect.
Foods have so many ingredients the color distinctions will quickly be exhausted.

The fading of a hue having a meaning: this would be lost on Joe/Jane Public and borders on an absurd proposition.

Last and not least: some people are color blind!
Posted by WebHybrid
Updated - 9th Nov 2011
+2 Votes
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Disagree
I guess it would be too difficult for a lot of people, because you missed the point.
Red meant fruit NOT an apple. Colorblind? No problem, her system still includes all the elements of the current system. Are we to dumb down everything for Joe/Jane Public. I they'll learn as their kids learn.
Posted by kaur
9th Nov 2011
+1 Vote
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Good in theory, but not all things have been considered...
Not all packaging will use a 4 color process. In fact many of the boxes shown were 2 color jobs. I think it needs to be simplified... don't break out ingredients. Just create logos, or an icon set for different things. Similar to 'certified organic' or 'certified kosher' instead we could have icons for, allergens, artificial flavorings, artificial colorants, preservatives etc.
Posted by taylorRichie
9th Nov 2011
+1 Vote
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Legislators
Food labelling is largely dictated by legislation. Given the complexity of some food products it could readily result in tiny squares with writing that is illegible to the vast majority of the populace. Nice in concept but impractical in the real world.
Posted by DOSlover
9th Nov 2011
+1 Vote
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Food labeling based on (sic) majority of food
Preservatives, for example, are not the (sic) majority of the food, even in our junk food favorites. Yet the size of the "preservatives" box on the label would still be quite small.
Posted by rickexner
12th Nov 2011
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Transcript

Background noise Renee Walker: My name is Renee Walker, I am a graphic designer and I have a concept for a smarter food label.

Music Renee Walker: What we're doing right with the food label is giving people too much complicated information.

Music Renee Walker: I thought I could create a new system for food labels that would be more visual and more graphic.

Music Renee Walker: The ingredient portion is the main portion of the label, and it's designed as a tree map. The big blocks indicate that ingredient makes up the majority of the food. The smaller blocks are in order of how they appear after in the ingredients lists.

Music Renee Walker: The color shows you the type of food that you're eating. So, for instance, is a color is green then it's a plant. If the color is red, it's a fruit. The bright colors indicate that the food is real, it's full of nutrients, it's full of vitamins, it's raw and not processed. If the color is gray or has no color, then it is a man made ingredient. The rest of the label shows the portion amount, the number of ingredients, calorie information, and then alphanumeric information that is relevant to the food products.

Music Renee Walker: I think that if we focus on ingredients instead of fats and calories and cholesterol, we can eat healthier because we will be eating more real food and less products that are not good for us.

Music

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