Cave paintings are more than 60,000 years and date back to the time before humans arrived in Europe. They are the first form of graphic communication known to us and hence, highly important. The purpose of this project is to study cave paintings from all around the world to understand how early humans came to develop language and graphics to communicate and if they are still relevant. The next step is to see if the symbols & drawings of animals in the paintings can be used today.

The language and symbols that we use today have stemmed from these cave paintings but it is important to understand the journey of graphic communication and stay connected to those roots in present times and even build on it. 

The project started with wanting to discover and understand symbols and how they have evolved over time. But with the amount of information available that is a little tough. Instead it builds on the menu design of a cave themed restaurant.

Two Meaters Apart  by Sahil Suneja and Vishal Sattrapu is a cloud kitchen that primarily serves chicken, goat, buffalo, pig and prawn meat. The menu is inspired by the hand stencils made in caves as well as the animals that were painted. The colour palette is shades of yellow and red ochre, a pigment used by early humans for paintings.

The project also focuses on the 32 symbols discovered by Genevieve Von Petzinger and the meaning of 12 out of those.