Design Meme: The Trendy Pig

With bacon notoriously being referred to at the "gateway meat" for weak-kneed vegetarians, not to mention the tried-and-true trope that "everything tastes better" with the crispy, crunchy mood-altering foodstuff, there's really no need to exalt the satiating virtues of the pig in all its meaty forms — not on a food website, at least. 

Still, we can't get enough of the hog. Even with reports of a global pork shortage striking in the next year or two, there's been no dearth of the swine in design, from porcine tabletop accessories to branding and graphics, as well as the now-standard chef and pig portrait.

Scroll down to get your fix 'til lunchtime.

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Tabletop animals: Carved, pig-shaped serving bowl (left) and cutting board (far right), from Fishs Eddy; silicone pig cooking lid, with steam-releasing nostrils (center, at MoMA Store).

 

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The hog at home: Pig poster (Etsy), CB2 gold pig bookends, resin and marble "Piggy" bank by Harry Allen; and a tufted pig bench by Yvonne Fehling and Jennie Prize

 

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Bacon as branding: Clockwise from top left, packaging labels for NYC's Sauce restaurant; the webpage for NYC's The Spotted Pig; Eat17 Bacon Jam, and the classic butcher chart.

 

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Cover hogs: Lucky Peach's Issue #3 turns the common imagery of a chef with a pig tattoo on its head, while Gastronomica's Winter 2011 issue gives the animal its gold standard.

 

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Swine twos: Clockwise from top left, chefs Andrew Carmellini, Naomi Pomeroy, David Chang, and April Bloomfield.