Logo Renovation — a ux case study

Each day on my way to work into Beverly Hills, CA, I see hundreds of beautiful storefronts. Almost all of them, I can tell a team of professional designers and marketing teams designed these businesses with an experience in mind. This is why Los Angeles known for fashion and shopping.

As I come to a street light, about to make my turn, I see….Hamburger Haven.

The more I see it, the more I critique it. The sign is old and faded. I can tell the building is at least from the 90’s and it may be a family business that cannot afford to renovate the store or logo. This logo bothered me enough for me to do a redesign and write about how I got to the end result.

Font Matters!

Let’s start with first impressions and how this sign makes a customer feel. Hamburger Haven isn’t the best name for a restaurant, however that will not change. But because the font is this kind of “WANTED”, old-timey font and it is bent into a downward curve, the H turns into a K. My brain then turns both H’s into K’s and I have definitely read it as Kamburger Kaven. I found myself asking “What the hell is a Kamburger?” “Oh it says Hamburger.”

Other components make the logo a bit confusing:

• What is the black spot on the burger?
• Is the trademark for the burger image?
• and Why does the tagline make me think so hard?

The only part of this sign that works for the business is the LA show lights around the sign. Font, colors, placement are all things customers are thinking subconsciously when seeing this restaurant and choosing to not give their business.

The Research

With any logo research, I begin by studying the words used and what feelings naturally occur when a person comes across the word. The word “haven” means safe place and has a heavenly feeling. I knew I wanted to give a glowing, halo effect when creating the new logo. Also, I wanted to keep it simple and to the point since this establishment is a diner and the logo should match that theme.