This project was the culmination of my team's (consisting of myself, Katherine Hunter, and Kate Belliveau) work in our 2021 Redefining Retail studio course, sponsored by VMSD Magazine. Our brand and design was selected as the winner in our studio - special thank you to VMSD and all the other guest speakers and critics from Gensler, Chute Gerdeman, Landor & Fitch, WD Partners, and Big Red Rooster!
“Native” could simply be a noun, referring to an original or indigenous inhabitant of a specific place.“Native” could simply be an adjective, characterizing something as being the place or environment in which a person was born or in which another thing - like a plant or an animal - first came into being. Both of these definitions are accurate and true, but to us, and to Native Nourishment, “native” is so much more; “native” evokes a sense of belonging and encourages us to remember that we only have one Earth for our whole lives, an Earth that we need to take care of and celebrate for all it has done for us. We have learned so much (and still have so much more to learn) from the indigenous peoples who first inhabited the lands we live on today, the ones whose cultures have always valued the deep, interdependent connection we humans have with nature and have respected, conserved, and defended their lands against encroachment and destruction. We aim to acknowledge these lifestyles and beliefs in everything we do as a brand by celebrating the cultures that are original to each area we find ourselves in, giving people accessible ways of fueling their bodies with native foods, and keeping in mind that without our Earth, we are nothing.
Native Nourishment is a new take on farmacy, led by a team of women aiming to provide the resources and education necessary for our neighbors to nourish their bodies with food from the earth - allowing us to use food as a pathway to health and to connect back to our roots, becoming our most natural and authentic selves. We are fueled by providing job opportunities and cultivating a community around nutrition education especially among the women we bring together, from the Baby Boomers all the way to Generation Z.
With food allergies and intolerances becoming increasingly prevalent all around the United States, Native Nourishment places an emphasis on catering toward those struggling to find shopping experiences that accommodate their unique dietary needs. We also provide hyper-localized experiences at each store to enhance the local culture of the surrounding areas and to highlight the natural food of each. We invite you to immerse yourself in our boldly curated plant-based market experience that will allow you to explore while tasting food, learning about your health, and discovering how to bring your local culture back into your home all while joining a community with legacy hospitality.
Brand Purpose & Founding Principles
Research & Foundation
Brand Strategy
User Personas & Journeys
Visual Positioning
Materials Palette
Since Native Nourishment's goal is to spread into each of the 50 states' major cities, a "core" material palette was created to show how the brand's identity could remain consistent in each location using base materials, while three "canvas" palettes show variations in potential materials to reflect the local cultures of the cities.
Graphic Identity
The Native Nourishment logo visually establishes the benefits of nourishing the body with fuel from the earth. It was created with inspiration from the flagship location's city in New Mexico.
Wall graphics were designed to add visual interest to Native Nourishment's spaces while also showing the beauty of the planet's bounty; custom line drawings of fruits and vegetables with organic shapes/outlines (which can be re-colored to fit the color palette of each NN location) precisely capture the essence of the brand.
A similar wall graphic was created for the second-floor learning kitchen to showcase the tools and skills customers can use to develop healthy lifestyles on their own - something Native Nourishment hopes to assist with.
Supporting graphics were developed for various uses including packaging and additional wall coverings.
Level 1
Level 2
Native Nourishment’s custom skylights are used throughout the building as a sustainability feature to save electricity and take advantage of the bright New Mexico sunshine during daylight hours. The skylights have built in circadian lights on the roof that can be turned on after sunset to supplement the lack of natural light.
Community Pop-Ups
Native Nourishment Membership
The Native Nourishment plans, sections, and perspectives were all created in Autodesk Revit 2020 and rendered/modified in Revit and Adobe Creative Suite (thanks to my amazing team members, Katherine Hunter and Kate Belliveau for their hard work on this project!) Custom graphics are unique to the Native Nourishment brand and were created in Adobe Photoshop by Mikayla Hernandez, along with all brand strategy icons, user personas, and the final slide deck.
