This is a branding concept I offered to the new Milwaukee Food Truck Association. This may seem an unlikely project for a medical illustrator. But more and more I am finding that I value the simplicity of good design. I want to be pulling to the ideals there in as many ways as I can. And so, gladly, I offer my skills to this area when the opportunity arises.

Branding the food truck scene: not my usual gig as a medical illustrator

The Red Rock Saloon is not my typical arena for proposing an idea. Speaking one night to the downtown Milwaukee crowd of Food Truck owners and mobile vendors, I found the atmosphere of the bar far more relaxing than I had anticipated. I met with as many truck owners as possible, before the presentations began. Really, this is an amazing group of people. They work long hours, sometimes 18 hours a day. Many had stories of breaking free from an old and confining lifestyle into something new with the promise of making a place of their own in the world.

My idea for the logo was a feeling of pavement. A great deal of street food customers are office workers, who are happy to find a bit of fresh air during lunchtime or dinner break. In Milwaukee we enjoy a few months of warm weather, so I wanted my idea to be a reminder of the fresh air and delicious smells. So I chose mustard yellow. This yellow is also the color of line dividers painted in the street. In fact, I actually created this logo by painting on a dead-end street in my neighborhood, using bright yellow paint. Later, I converted this painted symbol digitally into the logo you see below.

Posters were especially fun. I chose my favorite landmarks around the city and spent some time in front of them with actual street truck food in my hands. Sadly, due to the busy nature of the photo shoot, I never enjoyed the food myself. One thing I seriously neglected in this poster concept was to use different models for the food. I’d have wanted to see many different kinds of hands, if I were the viewer.

I proposed a Website to the Food Truck Association, and my idea was to carry the feeling of the beautiful outdoors into the Website:

I love to see the original sketches that other artists prepare. So I am offering mine below. In the early stages, I was working to get myself closer to the feeling a Food Truck should be offering its customers.

I’ve been reluctant to post this because as it turns out, the Milwaukee Food Truck Association has not yet formed into a group. Certainly, it is still my hope that they would adopt my concept for their group.

Thank you to Scott Baitinger, Streetza Pizza owner, and to all the Milwaukee food truck owners.

October 9, 2013

Laura Maaske, MSc.BMC, Medical Illustrator & Medical Animator| e-Textbook Designer

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Laura Maaske – Medimagery LLC

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