Culture & Identity Children's Book Series

The Global Slice: A Slice of Cuba

Project Overview

The Global Slice book series is a project where I study the ties between culture, identity, and food. I implement extensive research to create the brand identity: The Global Slice. Each book in the series is tied to a specific culture.

Skills

Brand Identity

Illustration

Layout Design

The first book in the series is A Slice of Cuba, which includes traditional Cuban foods and recipes, as well as some highlighted Spanish words with English translations. The goal of this book series is to connect children to their family's culture while also incorporating healthier ingredients.

Research & Process

Before deciding my creative route, I did some general research on food, identity, culture & health and their relations. I focus on the connections between family, food, and cultural identity.

RESEARCH

I researched other sources of cultural healthy foods, how to adapt recipes, and other instances where food is shown as an example of culture. I also decided to focus on my own culture for the first book in the series.

Research notes from my sketchbook

Bloggers who adapt cultural foods to maintain eating lifestyle!

@the.korean.vegan

"So I set out to prove to myself- and everyone else who told me a Korean cannot be vegan!"

@veganricha

"...any food choice is not about giving up something, it is about finding something better."

PROBLEM

I am focusing on maintaining cultural identity through food, specifically focusing on kids in the US who will be growing up far from their family's original roots (like me!). I found a lack of health + culture specific children's books.

not culturally diverse

not health-focused or culture specific

PROPOSED SOLUTION

I created a brand for a book series with something as familiar as pie!

The Global Slice highlights different cultures for children and includes cultural phrases and expressions found in the kitchen as well as traditional family recipes with a healthy twist. A Slice of Cuba is the first book in the series where I reach into my own personal experience, being a Cuban-American with memories in the kitchen with my grandma.

The road to the Global Slice!

The Global Slice

As new generations emerge and evolve farther away from their family's roots, they stray away from traditions that have been passed down. Focusing on food, these traditions adapt and change into something new. Recipes can be lost or relatively updated, but some find it difficult to keep up with these traditions they learned in childhood as an adult. The Global Slice aims to promote cultural identity through food by providing educational resources like recipe books as well as informative children story books.

A Slice of Cuba

A Slice of Cuba is a cultural spotlight in the series, A Global Slice. In this series, we visit Cuba and look into the Cuban and Cuban American kitchen. Readers can immerse themselves in a new culture or solidify already familiar household scenes. Some "Spanglish" may also be included to help young readers learn family sayings and feel more connected with the Cuban culture.