After doing enough research to understand what food insecurity is, I allowed for my feelings to guide my process. I knew "Have You Eaten" was going to be the slogan as it relates to loved ones checking in on you and expressing their love through food. However when I didn't have enough letters to complete the phrase, the subtext came to me instantly. I used the rest of the alphabet community to help finish the slogan!

The layout was slowly coming to life as I added to the poster. I then cut out a head to represent a student with the scribbles as extremely loud and unsettling noise. The scribbles represent the rumbling of a stomach, hunger, stress and how chaotic food insecurity really is. Letting my feelings out on the poster truly visualized the problem that I was aiming to provide a compassionate solution for. This exercise has now become a pivotal first step in my design process.

Moving into the next phase, an informational physical atlas needed to be made and have a transformative quality that allowed our community to interact and learn from it. After many many iterations and prototypes, this post-it note themed brochure came to life. I was inspired by Parent TikTok and how much love was embedded into the lunches they made for their children and the loving notes they hide inside.

I wanted to replicate that feeling and give some to college students who might not have someone checking in on them and feeding them and telling them how much they love them. Have You Eaten would take on that role and relationship. Providing holistic activities and journaling opportunities, the atlas embodied a positive, colorful and welcoming tone that felt appropriate for this topic.

As for the interactive component, I was inspired by Taiwanese Boba carriers made out of a flat plastic sheet with incisions that would transform into a bag when lifted. I studied the process and replicated it to fit the needs of college students taking their food resources home in this make shift bag.

Combining the feelings of food indesurity and the tone of my atlas, the campaign truly blossomed on its own. The logo stems from the sricbbles and transforms into a scripted "HYE." A new take on Hi and pronounced like Bye!

The vibrant pink took over and made so much sense. Pink is a welcoming and caring color which worked perfectly for Have You Eaten. It captured the essence of what a solution for food insecurity on a college campus can look like.

Finally the brand identity jumped out from anywhere it was paired with. Living in an accessible website linking active food resources on the UC Davis campus that has helped myself along with many students be fed and happy. To the professional collateral such as envelopes, business cards and letter heads that would be geared towards reaching college communities. Finally to the highway billboards leading into Davis guiding students to resources and bus transit posters that allow students to check in on themselves and figure out what they needed.

Overall, Have You Eaten has developed into a compassionate guiding hand to food resources and basic necessities. Students should only worry about being students. Next time you are with a loved one, check in on them and ask:

HAVE YOU EATEN?