I’m a designer. The new food pyramid is outdated and confusing It’s like a collection of emoji-inspired illustrations or clip art from a ’50s health pamphlet

https://www.statnews.com/2026/01/13/new-food-pyramid-guidelines-design-critique/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_2SMwYMmE1BHiHgat4mGjfkKwDNKKa4JycO5YkDlYYgXXF7idXvcN2oRtLthztWQ7D4y5fOVW0-eZtv4VSJOnOC6TppA&_hsmi=398170968&utm_content=398170968&utm_source=hs_email By Debbie MillmanJan. 13, 2026 Millman is the chair of the masters in branding program at the School of Visual Arts and the host of the podcast “Design Matters.” If you’ve read any of our coverage on the new dietary guidelines, you know that the Trump administration didn’t just change policy. It also decided to return to a (now inverted) food pyramid visual. “The resulting graphic feels less like a contemporary public-health tool and more like a collection of emoji-inspired illustrations or clip art from a 1950s health pamphlet,” prominent designer Debbie Millman argues in a new First Opinion essay. But it’s not just outdated, it’s confusing, she adds. Protein, dairy, and fats are prioritized at the wide top of the pyramid, but the visual logic provides few clues about quantity, balance, or what any actual meal should look like. Read more on why Millman believes that the design for the new food pyramid falls short — and why it matters. (Also, interestingly, how the retro aesthetic reflects the administration’s focus on nostalgia and populism.) Afterwards, read another new essay from a dietician, who writes that the new guidelines will only make her job harder.