| Italian Cheese Illustrations, Including Staple Made-in-Italy Ingredients that are EU-Certified (DOP and IGP), by Illustrator and Artist Yaansoon |
In October 2018, I won a request for proposal (RFP) floated by the Italian Trade Agency – ITA (Agenzia ICE), inviting a number of design and illustration agencies and independent illustrators to place their bids with samples of their work.
This portfolio page features the Italian cheese illustrations art print. It also gives an elaborate account on the overall illustration commission, the brief, the deliverables, and the target audience.
In the RFP, the Italian Trade Agency – ITA requested several deliverables including: Posters and art prints, roll-up banners, food menus, and other digital products earmarked for the celebration of the Italian Culinary Week (aka, Italian Cuisine Week) 2018.
The illustrated collections requested in the RFP had to have 12 illustrations per art print of the following staple Italian agri-food products: Italian cheese, Italian pasta, and Italian dessert. Those were printed out with official Italian government logos at the bottom of each art print (not included here), and were distributed as a giveaway at 11 events in 2 countries, including food-tasting events and gala dinners featuring authentic Italian ingredients.
The Brief
The illustrator with the winning technical and financial proposal was tasked to create a number of illustration & design products – within a tight deadline – for events showcasing the excellence of Italian food ingredients, as well as this European nation’s gastronomic way of life.
The events are part of the Italian Culinary Week in the World, which translates into Settimana della Cucina Italiana nel mondo in Italian. This is a worldwide event launched by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its embassies, in collaboration with the Italian Trade Agency – ITA (Agenzia ICE), tasked to promote Italian products, investments and partnerships globally. Celebrated for the 3rd year in a row in November 2018, the event is part of a campaign spearheaded by ITA/ICE to promote authentic Italian ingredients and dishes, dubbed Italian Taste (#ItalianTaste2018 #Vivereall’italiana).
The Deliverables
The RFP requested the following deliverables:
- 3 illustrated posters and 3 roll-up banners of Italian food illustrations and ingredients (Italian cheese illustrations, Italian pasta, and Italian desserts) with hand-lettering.
- 1 illustrated roll-up banner marking the official launch of the Italy Culinary Week’s events.
- 1 certificate of participation design (with illustrated elements) to be awarded to culinary-academy students and young future chefs attending the events.
- 2 illustrated gala dinner menus in bookmark size.
- 2 illustrated screen backgrounds (in 16:9 and 3:4 format) as event backdrops, using projectors.
- Illustrated 32-slide presentation, for a food-tasting workshop dubbed “The Excellence of Authentic Italian Ingredients,” highlighting DOP and IGP-certified products.
Italian Culinary Week: Patronage & Target Audience
Patronage: The events were held under the patronage of Italian ambassadors, consuls, and Italian senators.
A Multi-Faceted Target Audience: The events were tailored for different audiences including, students of a prominent chefs-academy, importers and distributors of Italian products, and TV cooking shows, among others.
Italian Chefs: The Italian Culinary Week also featured cooking workshops and gala dinners hosted by Pastry Chef Federico Anzellotti, president of CONPAIT (The Italian Confederation of Pastry Chefs), and Chef Marco Murenu, who at the time was the executive chef in charge of an Italian restaurant located at the Marriott hotel.
Italian Cheese Illustrations: EU Labels DOP & IGP
Most of the ingredients in the project’s Made-in-Italy cheese posters and roll-up banners are EU-certified agri-food products. To elaborate, the following illustrated cheeses are all DOP certified:
Parmigiano Reggiano, Grana Padano, Mozzarella di Bufala, Gorgonzola, Pecorino Romano, Asiago, Taleggio, Caciocavallo Silano, Fontina, Provolone Valpadana.
The Burrata di Andriacheese, on the other hand, is IGP certified, which means it has to be produced in Andria, a city in the south-eastern region of Puglia (Apulia). While the Ricotta, not an EU certified product, was included in the art print for its popularity as a staple Italian ingredient.
In the Press
LA CUCINA ITALIANA, DELIZIA DEI PALATI MEDIORIENTALI – Exportiamo.it
What Are DOP & IGP?
DOP and IGP are two of several EU certifications to indicate the quality and authenticity of agricultural-based food products created within the European Union. Remarkably, Italy scores the highest number of EU quality certifications, with over 300 products under its belt.
DOP is short for Denominazione di Origine Protetta, which translates into “Protected Designation of Origin.” This label ensures that products, like the famed Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, are made from locally grown ingredients, guaranteeing to the consumer that the food was made by local farmers and artisans using age-old traditional methods.
IGP, on the other hand, is short for Indicazione Geografica Protetta and literally translates into “Protected Geographical Indication.” This EU protective trademark is used to certify foods and agricultural products based on the geographical area in which they were produced, processed, and/or prepared. In other words, the IGP guarantees that at least one primary ingredient essential to the product, or stage of production, were home-grown in a specific geographic area.
Italian Pastry Chef Federico Anzellotti teaching cooking-academy students the secrets of traditional Italian desserts at a workshop organised by the Italian Trade Agency – ITA. Yaansoon Illustration’s illustrated roll-up banners can be seen in the background (Photo courtesy of ITA/Agenzia ICE).
The Italian desserts illustrated collection includes some of Italy’s most renowned sweet offerings, such as the delicious Tiramisù. Check it out in the link below.
Check out the Italian pasta illustrated collection, featuring Spaghetti, Penne, Rigatoni, and 9 more pasta shapes, with fruit and veggie accompaniments.
Client: The Italian Trade Agency – ITA (Agenzia ICE).
About Client: The agency’s full name in Italian is: Agenzia per la promozione all’estero e l’internazionalizzazione delle imprese italiane. ITA is a governmental department, currently under the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (Ministero degli affari esteri e della cooperazione internazionale – MAECI). At the time of this project, the agency was part of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance (Ministero dello sviluppo economico). ITA/ICE has offices in 70 countries worldwide.
Year: Oct – Nov 2018
Illustration Technique: I created these Italian food illustrations using a Wacom Cintiq Pro 16 pen display tablet, a Samsung Galaxy Tab S3 smart tablet, and digital brushes on Adobe Photoshop and the ArtFlow app. I also scanned analogue watercolour washes created using professional-grade watercolours and incorporated them into the illustrations digitally. The lettering was created using custom digital ink brushes on Adobe Photoshop.
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