Baking methods steeped in time-honored tradition
Black Seed Bagels is an artisan bagel shop led by James Beard-nominated executive chef and head baker, Dianna Daoheung. Dianna developed Black Seed’s signature bagel recipe, a New York-style bagel made with some baking techniques borrowed from Montreal. Since opening its first location in 2014, Black Seed has been pushing the boundaries of how NYC bagels are made, and prides itself in using only the highest quality ingredients.
What makes our bagels unique?
Black Seed’s artisan bagels start with a naturally leavened, fermented, glutinous dough. They are then boiled in water with honey added for a touch of sweetness. Our bakers fire each batch of bagels by hand in a wood-burning oven, just long enough to achieve perfection in crispness, chew, density, and deliciousness. When the bagels are lightly browned and ready to be removed, they are tossed into a marble chute for cooling, using hand-carved wooden peels.
Brief
Our goal was to give Black Seed a new visual identity that is connected to the company’s core values and to its vision of the future of their brand, as it expands from simply bagels to all sorts of products.
Findings
During our interview process, we helped ownership identify their core brand positioning of being a “black seed in sea of sesame” and in our brand exploration sought to demonstrate three levels of uniqueness of varying degrees, with ownership eventually choosing the most modern & adventurous.
