Marta Harding Designs
builds & grows brands
BZAR is the name for the UAE kid-led food movement our team designed to spark kids’ curiosity and creativity with food. “Bzar” is an Emirati blend of spices—each family with their signature recipe.
I designed the custom-lettered logo in a graffiti-like style that resonated with UAE youth. The speckling imply ground spices that come together to create the letterforms.
Embedded within the logo is “BZAR” written in Arabic.
I illustrated the ingredients commonly found in a Bzar recipe and used them as core elements in the visual system.
Our team developed the movement’s values, inspired by kids and their desire to be empowered.
To introduce the movement, our team hosted a dinner with government ministers, industry change makers, and of course kids, to experience the design opportunities brought to life through each course of the meal.
This taste kit supports families in getting back into the kitchen and cooking together, experimenting with new ingredients and recipes.
Courses like this palm sorbet palate cleanser celebrated ingredients found in the UAE while encouraging eaters to get messy and play with their food.
For the final course, we partnered with chef Sahar Al Awadhi, one of the first Emirati chefs in the UAE. She literally boiled the sea (water from the Arabian Gulf) for the UAE sea salt in this dessert while inspiring the group with stories of her becoming a chef despite the wishes of her parents.
