Burger King rebrand is a steamy masterclass in flat design

Burger King has undertaken a radical overhaul of every element of its visual branding – and it’s a master class on how to deliver a design-driven makeover. As with a lot of recent redesigns, BK has joined the flat design party, but unlike some other brands, it has pulled it off in a personality-filled way that feels festive.

With bold new elements focused on reproducing the shapes of BK’s menu items, the vibe is delightfully retro. It features a new, swirling typeface, which along with the custom color scheme evokes 1970s psychedelia, and a much improved logo based on a combination of the original iteration of 1969 (a contender for the best logos of all. time) and the most recent version from 1999.

The rebranding by Jones Knowles Ritchie agency is a major overhaul, without neglecting anything. There’s new packaging, menu design, merchandise, decor, social media and, well, everything really.

The new logo (complete with a genius monogram iteration, see above) looks familiar as it is so similar to the 1969 original. The Burger King name is once again simply sandwiched between the two halves of the bread. hamburger, with the blue swish nowhere. But it feels fresh too, and that’s mostly due to the juicy new font, which is as plump and squidgy as you want your burger to be.

This is exactly what Burger King wanted to achieve according to Raphael Abreu, Head of Design at Restaurant Brands International, who said in a statement that “we wanted to use design to make people crave our food; its perfection of flame cooking and above all, its taste “.

The font, called ‘Flame’ (see above in situ on the hamburger packaging), is inspired by the shape of the food – “rounded, bold, delicious” and, according to Abreu, is a font that “makes you want people have a bite to eat. ”We totally agree.

‘Firey Red’, ‘Flamin’ Orange, and and BBQ Brown ‘feature in the bold color palette, which is designed to evoke fun and freshness – shifting the perception of fast food from inauthentic and bland to vibrant and sizzling . And the illustrations (see above) aim to do the same, depicting people having fun with their food, as they hula hoop onion rings around their fingers, turn pickles into binoculars and cover themselves in ice cream.

It’s a flat design done in a way we haven’t seen many big players yet, with the block colors and bold shapes working perfectly on digital platforms as well as physically. The design community is already welcoming this approach with open arms, with overwhelmingly positive feedback flooding social media. It sounds like a collective sigh of relief after recent concerns were expressed on Twitter that 2020 has ruined the art of logo design.