NEWtrition Facts
Recently whilst grocery shopping in Taiwan we noticed how challenging it was to read the Nutrition Facts Label!
Author
Sarah Chen Lin / Yiting Hsieh
Publish
June 27, 2022
Read Time
3.5 mins
Client
Language
Many designs could be tweaked to make a HUGE difference in our lives. We’re going to share a fraction of our thought process as a global design agency to show just how much design affects how the world is run. Think about how the door is designed and how that affects whether it’s easy or hard to open; what we refer to as the Norman Door! Or how a bright yellow taxi catches the eye while a black one invites a luxurious feeling. Or something as ordinary as the nutrition facts label on the milk carton, which influences how much money you have left in your wallet!
Did you know the nutrition facts label became a legal requirement in Taiwan in 1975? Its standard design is to allow new nutritional and scientific findings to be incorporated at any given time, like when suddenly everyone was freaking out about trans fats. So every time a new finding is deemed important for our health and safety, a new row is added. The problem with this is that the current design is not exactly intuitive and hard to adapt to different packaging shapes and forms. It also doesn’t show clearly all the information we’re looking for.
Have you ever noticed that the nutrition facts label looks different from country to country? That’s because regulations on what information has to be included and how it must look like is decided by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and other relevant authorities in every country. In Taiwan, that’s the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
We’re not going to go through every labeling rule. You can read more <blog_link_p>here<blog_link_p>. But in essence, it all comes down to protecting consumers and giving them the best experience. So what exactly do consumers want to know? If you’re checking the nutrition facts label, chances are you care about health or the amount of calories you might have to burn off later. This brings us to another observation: the Taiwanese nutrition facts label doesn’t include the “% Daily Value” or the suggested amount of calories adults and children should be consuming every day. This detail is important because calories coming from fat or sugars are not the same as those coming from protein or fiber. (FYI, disclosing dietary fiber is not mandatory in Taiwan).
So what can we actually do? Early this year the Ministry of Health and Welfare did in fact <blog_link_p>ask for public opinion<blog_link_p>! We love it. And here was our take:
- Include info consumers actually need to know (content is king, always!)
- Use the typographic hierarchy and tweak the layout to draw attention to what’s important
- Adjust all info to appear clearly no matter the shape and form of the packaging
- Use color coding (optional)
What would you change? We’d love to know!
回顧與 Point.of 合作過的品牌，其中一半以上是飲食相關產業。我們擔任食品的視覺幕後推手，了解到設計參與飲食的一環，微小的改變實踐社會責任，讓台灣更好！這篇文章進行了視覺資訊再設計，「營養標示」就是這次的主角。
營養標示讓健康飲食的自主權回到消費者手上，翻到背面查看卡路里的動作，解開熱量密碼的組成。但是，你曾注意過包裝上的營養標示嗎？
從視覺呈現上，我們能夠著力的點會是什麼呢？
1.營養標示的視覺層級
視覺層級輔助我們的雙眼，利用文字大小強調資訊位階，加速提取標示上的訊息。若營養標示的辨識度、易讀性提高，標示的存在就有機會普及於大眾飲食生活。
眾所熟知的「熱量」是第一個被注意到的營養數值。現行的飲食風氣和營養觀念，人們不再只看熱量的多寡，我們開始關注蛋白質對細胞與肌肉組成的重要性，其他營養素如糖、鈉、反式脂肪等，也被視為需要多加留意的成分。
2. 能屈能伸的營養標示
大多數營養標示面積都非常小，根據食藥署的規定，在受限的小包裝（總表面積小於100平方公分之包裝食品）可用橫式依序列出所有營養標示內容，或者切割欄位以便放入長條形的面積空間。
食藥署提供的格式不盡然適用所有包裝，犧牲易讀性塞入文字的方式並不理想。我們嘗試創造的是，適應不同閱讀環境的營養標示，兼顧資訊傳達的主要目標，達到能被廣泛應用的標示版型。
3. 營養數字：給我一塊翻譯年糕
標示上密密麻麻的數字，若沒有相關營養知識，很難單從標示上得知營養數字訊息與我的關係。例如，一罐330ml的可口可樂含35克的糖，就已超過WHO每日建議健康攝取量25克；由此可知，沒有參照基準，即便獲取營養數字，我們仍然會是個「營養小白」，無法從營養數值選擇對自己有益的飲食。
事實上，各國的營養標示有著不同的規範，這也是為什麼好市多的食品，會再用貼紙貼上適用台灣的營養標籤。美國的營養標示在營養素旁，會放上每日參考百分比（% Daily Value）告訴消費者各營養素佔每日建議攝取的幾分之幾，直覺的解釋攝取份量代表的意義。每日參考百分比或許是未來臺灣食品標示上，可以再加入的面向。
美國食藥局的歷史研究員 Suzanne Junod 就曾表示，食物、T恤、時尚，觀看主宰了一切，造就我們的世代。營養議題與時俱進，飲食不只是生活，它關係到人類健康，更是文化的一部分。
Point.of 希望用設計的力量，創造形隨機能以上的價值。視覺是想法的延伸，調整營養標示視覺應用，微小的變化幫助台灣更好。
"It is rather amazing how much went into designing the graphic. We used an outside firm that knew a lot about branding. We did a number of focus groups and test panels, all sorts of research. It was quite staggering actually. The graphic — its design and look — was very well researched."
- Suzanne Junod, USFDA Historian, FoodDive.
NEWtrition Facts
Recently whilst grocery shopping in Taiwan we noticed how challenging it was to read the Nutrition Facts Label!
Author
Sarah Chen Lin / Yiting Hsieh
Publish
June 27, 2022
Read Time
3.5 mins
Client
Language
Many designs could be tweaked to make a HUGE difference in our lives. We’re going to share a fraction of our thought process as a global design agency to show just how much design affects how the world is run. Think about how the door is designed and how that affects whether it’s easy or hard to open; what we refer to as the Norman Door! Or how a bright yellow taxi catches the eye while a black one invites a luxurious feeling. Or something as ordinary as the nutrition facts label on the milk carton, which influences how much money you have left in your wallet!
Did you know the nutrition facts label became a legal requirement in Taiwan in 1975? Its standard design is to allow new nutritional and scientific findings to be incorporated at any given time, like when suddenly everyone was freaking out about trans fats. So every time a new finding is deemed important for our health and safety, a new row is added. The problem with this is that the current design is not exactly intuitive and hard to adapt to different packaging shapes and forms. It also doesn’t show clearly all the information we’re looking for.
Have you ever noticed that the nutrition facts label looks different from country to country? That’s because regulations on what information has to be included and how it must look like is decided by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and other relevant authorities in every country. In Taiwan, that’s the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
We’re not going to go through every labeling rule. You can read more <blog_link_p>here<blog_link_p>. But in essence, it all comes down to protecting consumers and giving them the best experience. So what exactly do consumers want to know? If you’re checking the nutrition facts label, chances are you care about health or the amount of calories you might have to burn off later. This brings us to another observation: the Taiwanese nutrition facts label doesn’t include the “% Daily Value” or the suggested amount of calories adults and children should be consuming every day. This detail is important because calories coming from fat or sugars are not the same as those coming from protein or fiber. (FYI, disclosing dietary fiber is not mandatory in Taiwan).
So what can we actually do? Early this year the Ministry of Health and Welfare did in fact <blog_link_p>ask for public opinion<blog_link_p>! We love it. And here was our take:
- Include info consumers actually need to know (content is king, always!)
- Use the typographic hierarchy and tweak the layout to draw attention to what’s important
- Adjust all info to appear clearly no matter the shape and form of the packaging
- Use color coding (optional)
What would you change? We’d love to know!
回顧與 Point.of 合作過的品牌，其中一半以上是飲食相關產業。我們擔任食品的視覺幕後推手，了解到設計參與飲食的一環，微小的改變實踐社會責任，讓台灣更好！這篇文章進行了視覺資訊再設計，「營養標示」就是這次的主角。
營養標示讓健康飲食的自主權回到消費者手上，翻到背面查看卡路里的動作，解開熱量密碼的組成。但是，你曾注意過包裝上的營養標示嗎？
從視覺呈現上，我們能夠著力的點會是什麼呢？
1.營養標示的視覺層級
視覺層級輔助我們的雙眼，利用文字大小強調資訊位階，加速提取標示上的訊息。若營養標示的辨識度、易讀性提高，標示的存在就有機會普及於大眾飲食生活。
眾所熟知的「熱量」是第一個被注意到的營養數值。現行的飲食風氣和營養觀念，人們不再只看熱量的多寡，我們開始關注蛋白質對細胞與肌肉組成的重要性，其他營養素如糖、鈉、反式脂肪等，也被視為需要多加留意的成分。
2. 能屈能伸的營養標示
大多數營養標示面積都非常小，根據食藥署的規定，在受限的小包裝（總表面積小於100平方公分之包裝食品）可用橫式依序列出所有營養標示內容，或者切割欄位以便放入長條形的面積空間。
食藥署提供的格式不盡然適用所有包裝，犧牲易讀性塞入文字的方式並不理想。我們嘗試創造的是，適應不同閱讀環境的營養標示，兼顧資訊傳達的主要目標，達到能被廣泛應用的標示版型。
3. 營養數字：給我一塊翻譯年糕
標示上密密麻麻的數字，若沒有相關營養知識，很難單從標示上得知營養數字訊息與我的關係。例如，一罐330ml的可口可樂含35克的糖，就已超過WHO每日建議健康攝取量25克；由此可知，沒有參照基準，即便獲取營養數字，我們仍然會是個「營養小白」，無法從營養數值選擇對自己有益的飲食。
事實上，各國的營養標示有著不同的規範，這也是為什麼好市多的食品，會再用貼紙貼上適用台灣的營養標籤。美國的營養標示在營養素旁，會放上每日參考百分比（% Daily Value）告訴消費者各營養素佔每日建議攝取的幾分之幾，直覺的解釋攝取份量代表的意義。每日參考百分比或許是未來臺灣食品標示上，可以再加入的面向。
美國食藥局的歷史研究員 Suzanne Junod 就曾表示，食物、T恤、時尚，觀看主宰了一切，造就我們的世代。營養議題與時俱進，飲食不只是生活，它關係到人類健康，更是文化的一部分。
Point.of 希望用設計的力量，創造形隨機能以上的價值。視覺是想法的延伸，調整營養標示視覺應用，微小的變化幫助台灣更好。
"It is rather amazing how much went into designing the graphic. We used an outside firm that knew a lot about branding. We did a number of focus groups and test panels, all sorts of research. It was quite staggering actually. The graphic — its design and look — was very well researched."
- Suzanne Junod, USFDA Historian, FoodDive.
Taipei City, 105, Taiwan
