2021

Natalie Cheng

Hi, hello, hey!
Nice to meet you, I'm Natalie. Thank you for clicking my profile.

I guess I am supposed to tell you the standard stuff – I am a creative thinker, a graphic designer and photographer. My work focuses largely on editorial, information design and typography. Previously, I have worked with Pentagram and Endpoint and I am very grateful for the opportunities.

But what I also want to tell you is that I am also human. I have big aspirations and I also make mistakes. I'm a bit of an old soul – I enjoy waking up to a routine, I take my coffee and CrossFit seriously, and I enjoy my mornings more than evenings. On the other hand, I am adventurous – I adore backpack travelling and learning a different culture from speaking to the locals and trying new cuisines.

I’ve always wanted to start something myself. And since food, culture and travelling fuel me as an individual, I have started my own platform where we design food experiences that educate on cultures and history. Being an entrepreneur is a different journey but I’m very passionate to achieve what is ahead for me.

And here is me being shameless – if you are interested in what I do, please please please reach out and you will definitely make a fresh graduate’s day :)

Culture Companion

The etymology of the word 'companion' originates from the latin word 'panis' which means 'bread', hence the term 'breaking bread' means to share a meal with someone. The significance of starting the night with breaking bread between people of different cultures allows for an equal, barrier-free shared space throughout the night.

Culture Companion is a platform that educates on food culture, history and traditions around the world through unique designed food-focused experiences like supper clubs and food workshops. The approach is thematic; where examples such as an ingredient, meal type, or culinary traditions around the world are showcased.

Food can tell stories of a culture and it is also associated with identity. I believe that by educating about cultures through food, it can bring people together and understand that despite all our differences, we are all the same.

Around The World With Future 50 Foods

Around The World With Future 50 Foods is an editorial piece that combines my interest in food anthropology, food sustainability and information design. Taking Knorr's Future 50 Foods Report as reference, this editorial piece breaks down its existing information and is designed to take you on an educational travel journey to learn the cultural origins of these future foods.

Sustainable Handcrafted Paper And Dyes

The creative field produces a large amount of waste and being a designer myself, I see an importance in reducing our carbon footprint. This project is one to inform about food sustainability and to also improve my practice as a sustainable designer.

With an admiration for handcrafted paper, I used this opportunity to learn about making paper in a sustainable and experimental way by up-cycling old unwanted papers from past projects and transforming them into new, handcrafted paper. Using food was my medium, ancient grains were added to inform on food diversity. Colour dyes were made from collected food scraps from my meals, so the end results are experimental and surprising.

P.S. This project was done during lockdown using no proper professional equipment.

Natalie Cheng

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