From the Series
Located in the heart of Harlem in New York City, Hot Bread Kitchen is an innovative social enterprise that employs and empowers immigrant and low-income women through the art of making and selling artisanal bread.
Having gone from strength to strength since its establishment by Jessamyn Rodriguez in 2007, Hot Bread Kitchen also recently got new branding. Abbott Miller of Pentagram worked with Hot Bread Kitchen on a pro-bono basis to help the organisation develop a visual identity that highlights the bakery’s mission, as well as raises their profile.
Central to the new design was the need for it to have a distinctive visual identity with the ability to accommodate a variety of different formats and languages.
The solution came in the form of a simple, scalable system of pre-printed and clear bags and stickers allows Hot Bread Kitchen to create their small-batch runs. As much care and detail goes into the making of the bread the packaging design and branding also had to reflect this.
Says Pentagram: “The logo is set in Wilma, a typeface influenced by American vernacular, and the round seal incorporates Hot Bread Kitchen’s motto, 'Preserving Traditions/Rising Expectations'. When applicable, the label may display the name of the bread in its native language, including Hebrew, Farsi, Spanish, Arabic and Armenian.”
A pattern comprising 28 classic bread-making tools and ingredients forms an important part of the branding. The tools and ingredients include wheat, water, rye, eggs, spoons, butter, whisks and more. This pattern, too, reflects a cultural tradition – a decorative one that is often seen across many different cultures.
The colour palette Miller and his team used for the Hot Bread Kitchen branding includes contemporary shades of eggplant, blue, gold and green.
Visit Hot Bread Kitchen’s website to read more about the work that they do.
