Dominik Brum; Are We Hungry for Food, or for the Idea a Brand Sells Us?
- Christina Png
- Mar 3, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 5, 2025
Exploring Tasty Brands by Dominik Brum
Branding is more than just a way to sell products. It sells ideas, emotions, and desires. In Tasty Brands, Dominik Brum takes this notion to new heights by blending marketing and appetite, reimagining iconic brand logos through the lens of food. The result is a thought-provoking design project that challenges us to consider whether our cravings are for what's on our plates—or for the stories brands have carefully crafted for us.
The Visual Language of Hunger
Brum's work takes something familiar—globally recognized logos—and transforms them into something just as universally understood: food. For example, Nike's swoosh becomes a banana with the tagline Just Eat It, merging the world of sports branding with the primal urge to consume. Similarly, McDonald's golden arches, already synonymous with indulgence, take on fresh layers of meaning when reinterpreted outside their original context.
This clever synthesis taps into how branding works on a psychological level. Logos are more than just symbols; they are visual cues designed to trigger emotions, memories, and, in the case of food brands, cravings. Brum’s redesigns prompt us to question whether we are actually craving the food itself, or if it’s the feeling the brand promises that we’re after.
The Inner Mechanics of Craving: A Feast of Meaning
Why do we trust certain food brands over others? What makes something taste better when it’s paired with a familiar logo—even if the ingredients are the same? Tasty Brands invites us to explore these questions by pulling back the curtain on branding's underlying mechanisms.
From the vibrant, attention-grabbing colors and bold typography of fast-food chains to the minimalist, exclusive aura of luxury food brands, advertising has long used visual identity to evoke emotional responses. Brum’s work deconstructs these strategies, removing logos from their usual corporate context and reimagining them in ways that compel us to see them from a different perspective.
So, when we reach for our favorite snacks, are we choosing based on taste—or are we simply influenced by years of brand exposure? Brum’s project suggests that many of our choices aren’t about flavor, but about trust, habit, and emotional connection to the brand.
Beyond Playful Design: A Cultural Reflection
While Tasty Brands is undeniably playful and visually striking, it also serves as a subtle commentary on consumer culture. By merging food and branding in unexpected ways, Brum highlights how deeply marketing has woven itself into our daily lives. His designs make us pause and ask whether our cravings are born of genuine hunger or simply the associations we’ve been conditioned to have.
In a world where food advertising is everywhere, Brum’s work pushes us to think critically about what we consume—not just in terms of products, but in terms of the ideas and narratives brands feed us. It raises an important question: When we reach for a snack, are we driven by need—or are we just responding to the promise a brand has sold us?
Conclusion: Rethinking the Taste of Branding
Dominik Brum’s Tasty Brands is more than just a design experiment; it’s a challenge to how we perceive the brands that shape our world. By fusing food and branding, he reveals the hidden forces influencing our desires, urging us to reconsider whether our cravings are for the flavors themselves, or the fantasies that marketing has built around them.
So, next time you find yourself reaching for a brand-name snack, ask yourself: Are you hungry for food, or for the idea a brand sells you?
Short Bio
Dominik is the founder of South Design Co., a branding studio based in Central Florida. With a focus on bold, efficient design, they help businesses build identities that stand out. When not designing, he's likely wrangling his two dogs, Nathan and Ford.
You can see more of his work at southdesignco.com
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