BARCODE POSTERS

Barcodes are distinct, iconic symbols of our commercial system. Without barcodes, our current system of exchange would collapse. Within each system there is a need to define order and the icon is often used as a device to do so. Using these powerful icons, these posters are a commentary on what we eat. It seems inevitable that with every meal we eat, we are also consuming information. Everything we eat has been scanned on some computer somewhere in the world. Even food is just an object in a large system.

ASSIGNMENT: Communicate the words "object" and "system" using image and type on a print medium.
MEANING: The ubiquity of the barcode opened a range of ways to make a statement on the commercially driven world we live in. I chose to represent the food pyramid with barcodes to push the idea that everything we eat is part of a larger system. I found it ironic to represent what advertising calls the "complete breakfast" with the icons that represent the real purpose of that statement—which is to get you to buy. This assignment allowed me to utilize the affordances of the print medium, one of which is its inherent ability to display a bold statement or manifesto.