Re-Designing Restaurant Chain Logos

What would you do if you had the chance to redesign your favorite restaurant chain’s logo? Would you make it fancier? Friendlier? Refined? These are the questions the BentoBox design team had to answer while redesigning their favorite restaurant chain’s logo. Check out the finished logos and the reasoning behind their choices!

Pizza Hut

When it comes to pizza, Pizza Hut has always been #1 in my heart. I’ve unashamedly eaten it at least once a week consistently for the past 5 years. I rebranded Pizza Hut as a red-sauce Italian restaurant, with a focus on artisan-crafted pizza and pasta. I already think Pizza Hut’s food is high quality, so why not look the part?

Introducing: Pizza Hut Cucina. I ditched the blocky, stacked letters for some more elegant, crisp characters. I reduced the iconic rooftop to a smaller icon to keep it classy, and incorporated the use of a classic typographic seal.

Written by AJ Camara

Chipotle

I decided to redesign the current Chipotle logo to evoke the feeling of an authentic Mexican restaurant. To keep the logo on brand I carried over the red and brown color palette and used the same subject matter of the pepper for the mark. I changed the typography to reflect my new direction of homemade by using handwritten fonts and created a simplified version of the pepper with a drop shadow. The drop shadow illustration style was something I came across often while searching for Mexican restaurant branding inspiration. I tied it all together by adding distress marks over the logo and set it on a worn paper background.

Written by James Coviello

Panda Express

I really enjoy Panda Express and their current branding so it was a challenge to try to change something I was pretty fond of. I decided to approach the redesign as if Panda Express were to market itself as a healthier, “fast-casual” option.

For typography, I chose a refined font with curly, decorative serifs that would allow for the subtle addition of a bamboo stem in the letter “p.” Staying true to the original logo, I kept the panda illustration minimal, but adapted the shape to fit more naturally within the new wordmark. Finally, the new color palette was inspired by the giant panda’s diet of leaves, stems, and shoots of bamboo.

Written by Jenny Lee

Taco Bell

The famous Taco Bell logo was redesigned in 2016, but with their most recent brand endeavors like The Bell Hotel, I wanted to take on the challenge of redesigning the logo with a bit more of the brand’s playful and vibrant personality. One that is evoked throughout their cantinas, social media, and The Bell Hotel.

First I started with the typeface. I chose a clean, bold sans serif that has rounded edges to nod to their loud brand voice. From there, I then created a logo mark that combined their two most iconic symbols, the taco, and the bell. I started with a taco shape that could sit around the text and then created a subtle bite mark for the bell to sit up top. To finish it off, I gave all the elements a slight imperfect marker stroke in two tones of a more vibrant version of their purple palette. These choices all added up to create a more playful, approachable logo that the brand Taco Bell is to me.

Written by Kayla Scheidel

Jollibee

Jollibee is one of the best exports from the Philippines and the best fast food chain where you can get fried chicken and spaghetti as a combo. The brand is easily recognizable due to a charming, albeit weird, red bumblebee mascot wearing a chef’s hat.

I reimagined the friendly chain as a fun, secret supper club and redesigned their logo to fit that aesthetic. The new wordmark is bold but still suggests playfulness, and the bee has also been simplified, hinting more at secrecy 👀 I kept the vibrant red color from the existing logo but also added gold, one of the colors of the Philippine flag. This was a fun redesign that I’d gladly take fried chicken for life as payment, Jollibee (hint, hint)

Written by Robine Nucum

Cold Stone Creamery

Cold Stone Creamery is an ice cream parlor chain that has a variety of different frozen goodies. They offer frozen cakes, milkshakes, smoothies, and, of course, ice cream. My go-to order at Cold Stone is the Birthday Cake Remix. The Birthday Cake Remix is made up of birthday cake batter ice cream filled with brownies, fudge, and sprinkles. If you haven't yet, please do yourself a favor and go try Birthday Cake Remix… you’ll thank me later!

For my Cold Stone re-design, I rebranded the ice cream parlor to be a rustic “farm to table” concept. The new Cold Stone would be filled with old-world charm and organic dessert options. To match this new vibe, I incorporated a new serif font that gives off a more sophisticated tone. I removed their brand colors and stuck to a monochromatic palette to match the old-world charm. I ended up replacing their ice cream graphic with an illustration of an aged clocktower, to symbolize that they have a long-standing history and remain timeless.

Written by Anastasiya “Stacy” Krokha