Gold Star Chili Brand Design

Jan 6, 2023
1 min read

Updated: 19 hours ago

The new branding looks clean on the new stores. Photo Credits: Gold Star Chili

Refreshing a Local Icon

Work completed at: Badge Design Studio - Creative Director, Designer

Project type: Brand Design, Packaging, In-Store POP

A perfectly strategic refresh. Evolutionary in some ways, revolutionary in others. That describes this one.

For the branding, a slight evolution was in store. Goal was to increase the versatility of the mark for the multitude of digital applications today's identities are being used across.

Maintaining brand recognition and keeping a similar footprint to the original – to ease restaurant level signage updates – meant the solution wasn't going to be radical.

That doesn't mean that it wasn't smart though.

Strategically, this moment called for the removal of the word "Chili" from the brandmark. Primarily because the restaurant chain continues to broaden its appeal and promote their excellent non-chili food options on the menu. Seriously check out their burgers, you won't regret it. This change also further visually simplified the brandmark.

Reduce, simplify, strip off everything uncessary.

For the brand toolkit, this is where things look a more revolutionary attitude. Bolder graphics, floods of color and a revamped, younger, tone and voice injected a bit of irreverence and humor.

All of this with the goal of purposely positioning this "red" Cincy chili brand from the more formal and staid "blue" one. If you know you know.