Kwame Onwuachi's "Feed Your Senses"

Project Overview

Chef Kwame Onwuachi wanted to create a one-of-a-kind experience at the Aspen Food and Wine Classic: an autobiographical meal pairing his food with his story in a fully immersive environment. I led the creative team that brought that vision to life. Working within an existing Aspen restaurant, we developed a visual identity rooted in a highly textural, hand-crafted collage aesthetic inspired by artists like Basquiat and Kandinsky.

From that foundation motion graphics designer Hana X. Kim and I built a colorful, free-flowing world where each dish encapsulated a chapter of Kwame's life, and motion graphics evolved to evoke the history and emotion of each time and place. We then provided timings to Kwame's team so he could prepare recorded narrative scripts while we developed projections that alternated between story-driven moments and subtle environmental graphics designed to let the food take center stage.To achieve the clean, enveloping space Kwame envisioned, we built a new structure within the restaurant, precisely integrating ultra-short-throw projectors into a ground-supported rig so that motion graphics filled every surface without encroaching on the guests.

Even the doors disappeared when closed, allowing the room to fully dissolve and guests to be absorbed completely into the experience.