THE BRITISH CRISP CULTURE
‘The British Crisp Culture’ is a concept aiming to highlight British people’s obsession with potato crisps. It was important to visualize this in a way that would be intriguing, spark discussions and make people think differently about the snack. The piece became a combination of cherishing British food culture as well as criticizing the absurdity of eating crisps as if it was a meal.
More information about the project and the process:
The initial idea was to create an awareness campaign that would change British people’s view on crisps as food, and through this make people understand that they should eat less of them. But as the project progressed I realised that every campaign that is created to make people change or stop doing something (e.g. stop smoking-campaigns) rarely work for those who it is aimed at. I therefore changed my direction and wanted to focus more on British people’s obsession for crisps and the habit of eating them – which has become a strong part of British food culture. One can almost call it the British crisp culture. It is a product, which provokes a great deal of emotional experience; like the great anticipation in opening a packet of crisps. Further on I looked at crisps’ many flavours, and how the brands flavour their crisps as a full meal: ‘English Summer Barbeque’, ‘Lime & Coriander Chutney’, ‘Roasted Chicken & Thyme’ etc., but in reality they’re just a slice of thin potato dunked in oil, sprinkled with salt and flavoured with a hint of a different meal. By this one can sort of understand the British view on crisps as something more than a potato. I therefore came to realize that the final result needed a cultural context and it also needed a feeling of tradition.
And it needed to make people start questioning the habit.
Didn't get what they are meant to look like?
1: English Breakfast 2: Sandwich and crisps 3: Fish & Chips
