Fat Project

Social Design, Branding and Identity, 2019


Being fat has always been and always will be a huge part of my identity. Clothes are a point of contention for me due to the fact that, almost every clothing store I go to doesn’t carry my size.

This may seem like a trivial matter to most people, but by making a choice to omit plus sizes, these companies are insinuating that members of the fat community do not fit their brand. They suggest that fat people, or people above their offered size range, are not sexy, cool, happy and basically not worth it.

Thus, with the aim of severing the negative associations tied to the word fat and re-branding it, I decided to hijack well-known high-end brand logos by replacing their logotype with the word fat. I created a faux company called ‘FAT” that sells box sets of merchandise, consisting of T-shirts, tote bags and stickers, bearing these logos such that fat people and straight-sized fat allies could proudly wear this word, rebranding themselves and reclaiming the word.

Upon conducting extensive research, I realised that the bulk of existing works surrounding the body positive movement often follow the ‘anti-aesthetic’ or Brutalist styles. I made the decision to completely go against that narrative and truly disguise my initiative as a high-class and idolised company to reinforce the idea that fat bodies need to be normalised. I chose black and white to maintain a sleek and clean aesthetic carefully modeled after high-end fashion companies. I wanted to create an inclusive atmosphere and thus omit distinguishing factors that come with colours.

In this same vein, I also decided to ‘white-out’ the models’ skin to really emphasize their volume and forms while also allowing for audiences to relate to these models no matter their skin colour.

While considering the logo for the entire company, I decided to use negative space and shadows to insinuate the idea that this company strives to erase and re-fill the ‘contents’ of the word fat. I created a sleek and classy black and white lidded box with a laser-cut logo, to contain the T-shirt, tote bag and sticker set that one can purchase.