Restaurant branding is tougher by the day. If you are a restaurant owner or someone aspiring to launch your own business in the industry, we are sure you know this already. The competition is tough. So, the only way to make a difference is to actually show customers how your restaurant is different. It’s all in your branding strategy. And do you know what lies at the crux of a good branding strategy? You guessed it right – logo design.
Restaurant logos help create a “brand”. You don’t want people to dine at your restaurant or order food just once. You want them to talk about your brand to their friends. You want them to remember your brand weeks later. And you want them to keep coming back every time they think about say burger or pasta or whatever is the signature menu item in your restaurant.
And all this begins with a logo, a good one! How do you make sure that your restaurant logo design draws the crowd in? Well, we have here the recipe for the perfect restaurant logo designs.
Serve them your dishes before actually serving them your dishes! Confused? We’ll tell you how.
Your restaurant has its own personality. If you have not defined it yet, now is a good time to start before designing your logo. If your logo manages to capture this unique personality of your restaurant, it would set the stage for success. This would be a way to let people have a taste of your restaurant before actually visiting the place.
In fact, once you define the character of your restaurant by creating a distinct logo you will easily be able to extrapolate the idea onto your restaurant ambiance – the interior design. Doing it the other way round might be pretty confusing.
Take a look at this restaurant logo for example.
With a powerful logo like this one, you have a unique starting point when it comes to designing the rest of the experiential aspects. You have a strong direction in deciding on ambiance themes, colors for the furnishings, and other details in your restaurant. In fact, a logo as unique as this one will make it easy to come up with catchy design ideas for your restaurant menu design, flyers to promote your restaurant, and other critical details.
A good mascot design goes beyond adorning your logo. It gives a friendly face for people to remember your restaurant by.
Let’s look at an example. How do you feel when you look at this logo below?
Did it bring a smile on your face? Does it look friendly, warm, and welcoming? That’s pretty much the kind of ambiance that Jollibee, a Filipino fast-food chain creates.
So much happens in this logo and yet the design remains simple and visually memorable. That’s because the cheerful mascot you see on the logo takes branding on its shoulders.
With a memorable mascot like this one, you have an iconic logo that surpasses the competition in your industry. You can then use the mascot on your packaging design, business cards, and even for store promotions. It sets the track for the long-term branding of your restaurant.
Or when people see a takeaway container with your mascot in it, they instantly think of your restaurant. And when this happens, there is a high likelihood of these customers visiting your restaurant or placing an order soon. Brand recognition, immediate brand recall, and a host of other convincing factors make the case for including a mascot in a restaurant logo.
You must have heard enough about the types of typefaces to choose for restaurant logos. The key is to understand the emotions attached to each typeface or font style.
For example, fancy script fonts have an inherent sophistication in them. So, they suit upscale restaurants. Even a traditional serif font will work in this case. But do you think such classy or conventional styles will work for a hip pub or even a casual restaurant that you wish to promote as a place for the youngsters to hang out with their friends? Not at all. In such cases, you might need something simpler and less formal. And if you wish to capture a unique style, then you can always use rustic brush scripts for that personal touch.
Instead of merely comparing the aesthetics of the fonts for restaurant logos, do some research and understand the personality of each font style. Even better, create a custom font for your restaurant perfectly tuned to suit your unique style. After all, experience goes beyond the ambiance in your dining joint.
The effortless style of the font in Wendy’s logo, for example, is easily recognizable.
You want people to fondly remember your place. Not get confused about the design of your logo. So, choose a simple design that people can easily remember. A simpler design will instantly tell them a beautiful story about your restaurant. And it makes it easier for them to differentiate your logo from that of the other restaurants in your segment.
Have you seen the revamped new logo of Burger King? It’s sleeker, more stylish, and quite memorable too. What’s more? A flat design like this one looks great both on digital designs and in print, even when you have to print them in different colors.
You do not want your logo to look super-trendy today only to look outdated and irrelevant to your restaurant model a few years later. Restaurants crave long-term relationships with customers. And for this, you need timeless restaurant logos.
Take the McDonald’s golden arches for example. This logo remained untouched for close to two decades now. The current logo was first introduced in the year 2003 and now people cannot separate the brand from the iconic arches.
In this case, the logo is pretty simple and versatile. A design like this one will hardly ever go out of style.
Other crucial details you should know here are:
As you can see, your logo can be a beautiful mix of a variety of elements that make your restaurant special. That’s one way to make it timeless and recognizable.
Yes, why not create a logo that captures the rich origin story of your restaurant? This will be a conversation starter that gets people talking about your brand. That’s exactly what you want.
With restaurant logo designs that showcase the heritage, you are telling customers about the hard work and dedication that went into creating the restaurant. When they appreciate the story behind it, they appreciate the brand a little more.
The face of Colonel Sanders on the KFC logo is partly the reason why many people know about the fast-food chain’s backstory.
Instead of going with symbols that are considered the “norms” in your industry, choose something that best suits your restaurant. It can be something that reflects the signature dish in your restaurant. Or even a symbolic representation of your restaurant name. That’s one way to set your logo apart even if there is stiff competition in the particular restaurant segment your business belongs to.
If you think by using an icon in restaurant logo designs you are limiting the perception, you can always use a monogram. And one that’s styled to suit your ambiance will become an easy emblem to use on your marketing designs.
Taco Bell does it brilliantly with its simple symbolism in logo design.
So, with these easy insights, combine the basics like color psychology, font choices, balance in logo design, and other critical design elements. That leaves you with restaurant logo designs that capture the attention of the right audience. And remember that for your logo design to work, you should supplement it with visually consistent marketing designs too!
