01 - CHALLENGE
Designing with, not for
The project involved many voices with different expectations of what The Open Table could become. Some saw it as a food event, others as a local support network, and others as a place for cultural exchange. A conventional identity process risked creating something polished but disconnected from the people it was intended to serve.
The challenge was to create a process that built genuine ownership from the beginning. We needed to gather meaningful insight, create space for participation, and turn diverse contributions into a clear brand and programme. The outcome had to feel coherent without reducing the richness of the community behind it.
02 - APPROACH
A process shaped around participation
We built the process around workshops, shared meals, visual exercises, and informal conversations. Participants brought recipes, memories, objects, photographs, and local references that revealed what hospitality meant within the community. These contributions became the raw material for the creative work rather than simply research to be interpreted later.
We then identified recurring themes and translated them into a modular identity, an open tone of voice, and a practical toolkit. The system was intentionally flexible, allowing new contributors to add their own perspective. Rather than prescribing a fixed image, it created a structure for the project to keep growing through use.
03 - OUTCOME
A brand with shared ownership
The Open Table launched with an identity that feels lived in rather than imposed. Its materials carry the warmth, variety, and generosity of the people involved, while remaining clear enough to support events, posters, menus, social content, and future partnerships.
More importantly, the creative process created lasting ownership. Participants could recognise their own contributions in the project and understood how to carry it forward. The result is a brand that does not simply represent a community; it gives that community a practical and expressive way to represent itself.
