Creative Kitchen

“It doesn’t matter how detailed you spec the style guide, there’s a human factor that we cannot control”

Natasha Jen is a graphic designer, educator, and partner at Pentagram. She explains the often-confused concepts of branding and visual identity to clients and junior designers by using the analogy of cooking. The step-by-step cooking analogy is divided into five stages.

First, determining the flavors.

Second, selecting the ingredients.

Third, the cooking process.

Fourth, tasting and feedback.

Fifth, creating the style guide.

By comparing the process of building a brand and visual identity to cooking, she illustrates that design is not a simple process. Additionally, she explains that design requires creativity, iteration, and collaboration, much like creating the perfect dish.