America serves as a hub of restaurants varying anywhere from fine dining to fast food. As a nation that is dedicated to epicurean delights and easy to obtain grub, it is no wonder that there are a few restaurants out there that have established its presence in the food industry. Hundreds of millions of people view these restaurants every day, so maintaining their brand and identity to the public is vital to their sales. But what makes rebranding successful and what ends up as a flop?
Two of the most recent victims in rebranding is Arby’s and Wendy’s. Arby’s previous logo design had an iconic type style and simple contour line illustration of a hat. But the new design is a complicated and aesthetically disturbing. It juxtaposes 3D rendering with a 2D sans serif type. With the 3D rendering, there is already an excessive amount of decorative elements, but to place it next to the type confuses the eye with the inconsistent depth of field. The stylized apostrophe placed in the type is unnecessary and adds no conceptual meaning the logo. Arby’s should have stayed with their previous logo and carefully approached the rebranding strategy before jumping the gun.
Wendy’s, another victim of rebranding, has taken a different route to revitalize their look. The simplification of the girl works well, although they could have taken it a step further to minimize it a bit more. More so, it is the choice of type that throws this design off. It looks like a hybrid of Comic Sans and Dakota Handwriting. With Arby’s vision of moving forward as a higher-end hamburger chain, this new logo leaves Wendy’s short of their desired appearance.
Luckily, there is a restaurant out there who’s new brand proves successful. Old Chicago’s new brand has a vintage feel that reflects the essence of Chicago back in its earlier days; it’s an actual representation of the restaurant name. This combined with modern design aesthetically produced a new image and voice for the restaurant. To see more of Old Chicago’s rebranding campaign, click here
What restaurants have you seen fallen a victim to rebranding? Which ones have reaped the benefits from a new design?