Tower of Babble — Allie E.S. Wist

Printed cardstock boxes, varying dimensions, 2014

Tower of Babble Authentic Food Co. project uses design to critically explore issues relating to food package design and food labeling regulation, particularly the problems surrounding transparency. The project began of as an exploration of the complexities of the modern grocery store. What designs guide our navigation through that space? How do those designs act as forces that interact with consumer dietary choices and public health?

The box designs aim to reveal the deceptive nature of “healthy” package design. Each package contains a familiar, common grocery store item or prepared food, yet they are disturbingly unknowable from the packages alone. The ingredients lists for common foods like grilled cheese or cake don’t match up to our beliefs about what those foods should contain. How do those ingredient lists affect people without the graphic design and industrial design of their containers to communicate more familiar, reassuring information?

Similarly, front-of-package health and nutrition claims on are often misleading and elusive. They don’t always reflect the truth about highly processed and refined foods, and create “health halos”—a situation where consumers perceive the food to be healthier than it actually is.

Tower of Babble was exhibited at the 2015 International Food and Design Conference in NYC.

Photographs by Matt Taylor-Gross