Welcome to the DISGUSTING FOOD MUSEUM. This we know:
Only a few things move us emotionally as much as food. But while enjoyment was and is a dominant topic in all epochs and cultures, its opposite - disgust - is hardly discussed and researched. Disgust is a basic human emotion and is experienced intensively since early childhood.

For Dr. Samuel West, a psychologist living in Sweden with Icelandic-Californian roots, this cultural contradiction was the impulse for the curatorial concept and the founding of Disgusting Food Museum.

The first exhibition took place in the summer of 2018 in Malmö and attracted worldwide attention in expert circles as well as press and the public. The positive response encouraged the museum's creator to open another exhibition on 7 December in Los Angeles.

More than 80 dishes from different parts of the world are presented at this exhibition. In addition to a detailed description of taste, ingredients, preparation and cultural context, there is also detailed information on global food culture. Another highlight is a tasting counter where international dishes such as insects or Icelandic sharks can be tasted.

"Originally, everything began as a spontaneous cultural experiment where branding was not the focus. But its success forced us to professionalise our communication. And that very quickly," Dr. West comments on the commissioning of KW43 for a global brand relaunch.

"We were thrilled right from the start. After all, the DFM is not a culinary horror cabinet, but offers an extraordinary approach to combine the controversial topics of food, sustainability and multicultural understanding. There is something new and exciting emerging in the global cultural market and we were given the opportunity to make a significant contribution as a brand," explains Professor Rüdiger Goetz, Managing Director of KW43.

This makes the brand appearance both visually sophisticated and striking. It combines superficial entertainment with the sophisticated socio-anthropological aspect of the exhibition. A dynamic logo indicates the different origins of the exhibits. In addition, it can be used for effective communication in Europe or Asia at future exhibitions. The branding ironically echoes a fictitious brand from the upscale food segment, which interchangeably plays with the disgusting terms from different languages. The result is an entertaining contrast that draws people's attention to how culturally subjective disgust is.

"We quickly noticed that visualising disgust as an emotion that can be understood globally is practically impossible and objects that trigger disgust do not adequately represent the cultural ambition of DFM. The abstraction of a feeling through language and typography was exactly the right way to go," says Rüdiger Goetz, outlining the creative strategy.

"KW43 immediately understood that the museum offers not only entertainment, but also an exciting intercultural perspective and evidently makes it an integrative and mature brand concept," comments Dr. West on the collaboration.
The agency also developed the exhibition look and feel as well as the accompanying media and an opening campaign. A new website, an integrated exhibition design and merchandising concept are still under development.

The museum will open its first North American exhibition at the renowned Museum of Architecture and Design in downtown Los Angeles. Further exhibitions in Asia and Europe are in the pipeline.