Considerations: Name, logo, fatness factor (on a scale of 5 being most fat)
McDonalds:
The irish name has nothing to do with their international status–well at least there are shamrock shakes. Their simple logo allowed them to be able to plaster it everywhere–appropriate for their very ubiquitous nature. A double arch: Implies community. Two people coming together. It also implies gateway. Come on in.
Fatness Factor: 1
The arch actually looks quite slim.
Wendys
The mystery of Wendy. The boss’s daughter. But why? Was she inspiration for the restaurant? Does she cook my food? Does the president cook fast food for his daughter? The name Wendy and their complex logo implies a family feel.
Fatness Factor: 3
Wendy looks very thin in this logo. But all that boxiness and junk in the logo.
Burger King
Their name implies royalty. And that certainly is not conveyed in their playful logo.
Fatness Factor: 5
Their logo says, “we are fat and we don’t care.” It’s a circle and everything in the logo even has rounded edges. They even gave it a bulbous motion that makes it blump out.
Subway
Sub sandwich. Subway. Ok. But what are those arrows on their logo? A devil’s pitch-axe?
Fatness Factor: 2
The shape of their logo is horizontal, matching the shape of their sandwiches. But not really fat.
Taco Bell
A bell. You can ring it to mark the beginning or the end of something, to mark a passing, to remind yourself that “it is done.” I suppose there is some sort of mexican significance to the bell. I don’t know what it is. But it sure does imply fatness.
Fatness Factor: 4
Eat our stuff, and you’ll become the shape of a bell. Not just a flat bell, but one that is big and bulging.
White Castle
Another royal name with no meaning. At least their restaurants are kinda like castles. A standalone White Castle joint is square, just like the burgers and the boxes of fries. Their logo even shows a square joint.
Fatness Factor: 3.5
Another dynamic bulging logo.
Hardees
WTF. A dancing star? next.
Arby’s
Giddyup cowboy! Rope in them burgers! ye-hah!
Fatness Factor: 3
Cowyboys aren’t fat, are they?
i think Burger King’s logo used to have a crown on it. am i wrong? i think you need to further explain your “fatness factor” ratings system. what’s a fatness factor? is a higher rating bad or good? does it mean you’re more likely to gain weight at a higher-rated place? “mc” is actually a scottish derivation, i believe. i think the “wendy’s” logo needs a redesign. that’s been around way too long. it needs some 21st centuryism!
Yes, Laura, you are correct about “Mc” being a Scottish derivation. This is probably harbouring back to Elementary Design, but notice too how 4 of the 8 use the red and yellow color combination, with Arby’s using only red. Taco Bell uses a variation.
perhaps red and yellow represent the paramount condiments of ketchup and mustard?
HA! I never thought of that. I like it! I was referring to the fact that yellow on red is the highest contrast color combination. If you want a design to be its most prominent, yellow on red is the combination to choose ~ which is probably way many of these fast food giants use it.
“Ok. But what are those arrows on their logo? A devil’s pitch-axe?” Think subway. It refers to the directions the subway travels 🙂
Angie took the words out of my mouth.
yes. SUBWAY is supposed to be the “healthy alternative” to the other fast-food places. so maybe the arrows are supposed to also suggest movement, like active and healthy people are always moving/exercising.
are you serious laura? “what’s a fatness factor?” Did you actually READ the blog post?
um, i meant, does the food MAKE you fat? does it CONTAIN fat? i thought it was a little ambiguous, mr.-i-comment-on-posts-days-later.
We’re not talking about the food here, we’re talking about their logos.