Thesis Statement / Project Abstract
The meat brand I am designing is meant to offer one solution to the problematic nature of meat production, while also doubling as a healthier alternative.
Exciting technological advances have always fascinated me since I was a kid and influenced my early interests in robotics, biomedical engineering, and eventually cellular agriculture.
Since making the choice to attend art school, I have since realized that I’ve missed incorporating that aspect of science into my work. I don’t really engage with that side of science in my daily life now other than reading about it when articles pop up; cultured meat doesn’t exactly have a place in America’s market right now and recellularization isn’t widely known. I want to make a call to action on how we can all contribute to a more ethical and sustainable way of consuming protein and becoming aware of a more nutritional alternative.
Artist Statement
My thesis project involves branding and package design of a cultured meat meal product in America that increases awareness of cultured meat research and offers a healthier alternative to children’s meals. With academic research and journal articles on the development of cultured meat and the increased customizable nutritional value that trumps traditional meat. I aim to showcase this information through attractive clean lines, and simplistic Lunchable-esque packaged meal design alongside a website and shipping box designs to support the meal service subscription aspect of the brand.
Exciting technological advances have always fascinated me since I was a kid and influenced my early interests in robotics, biomedical engineering, and eventually cellular agriculture. At that point cellular agriculture had become a popular topic in 2019 through a video titled Meat Berries that documented a process called tissue recellularization that injected fetal bovine cells into the scaffolding of what was previously a grape to essentially grow “meat berries”(Atkin 2019).
Since making the choice to attend art school, I have since realized that I’ve missed incorporating that aspect of science into my work. I don’t really engage with that side of science in my daily life now other than reading about it when articles pop up; cultured meat doesn’t exactly have a place in America’s market right now and recellularization isn’t widely known. I want to make a call to action on how we can all contribute to a more ethical and sustainable way of consuming protein and becoming aware of a more nutritional alternative. As a graphic designer, one of my jobs is to take a subject and make it appealing to an audience, which is why this project to visually design and package cultured meat in an educational way is a good fit for me to create awareness and visual appeal about.