KFC. The KFC logo is an iconic staple in the curation of other fried food brands. Their Colonel has sat proudly as their logo for more than 60 years, an honour to the originator of the restaurant. As for the typography KFC began with a monochrome handwritten typeface from 1950-1990. But then in the 90s they added their signature bright red to their design and abbreviated their name to KFC from Kentucky fried chicken , giving them a more modern and bold name to fit the times. The latest design of their logo was in 2018, the font chosen was black coloured Friz Quadrata font in italics. The shape of their box logo changed too, to a trapeze shape and the portrait was refined. The red became white and red stripes and the colonel’s face is in black contour rather than the previous blue and yellow. Although in the UK currently most restaurants feature the logo with no stripes and a darker red tone, but with the same font.

The typographic voice suggests the restaurant is reliable, family friendly and has something unmistakably American about it. It may be the red and white stripes and also the icon of the southern looking man. There’s culture in southern America that “home comforts” and family are the most important things in life. Making KFC come across as a warm and welcoming brand. In fact the typeface is so good many other fried chicken places have copied it, in order to try and steal the message that comes with the KFC brand. You can see examples of this in KFC’s 2019 advertisement where they mock the other restaurants by saying “We’re flattered.”

Popeyes chicken. Popeyes is a popular American brand that has only just entered the UK. The first one being opened in Stratford just this November. Since opening, the restaurant has had insane queues and hundreds of customers lining up for their food. Let’s take a look at the Popeyes brand and analyse what stands out about this popular restaurant. The font used in the logo is a “dancing letters” font meaning each letter is at a different height from the other, looking like they are dancing. 

The logo is placed horizontally and is in a bright orange colour. This emphasises the playfulness of the brand and the liveliness, making it eye catching and stands out from other more traditionally placed and designed logos. The Popeyes Louisiana kitchen seal is a circle containing the fleur-de-lis symbols and the dancing “p” icon which has a red drop shadow. The fleur-de-lis is a symbol of the brands hometown, Louisiana, as it’s a reminder of their heritage. The eye-popping colour palette suggest the typographic voice that it’s optimistic, inviting and appealing. Popeyes chicken is typically coated in orange and red seasoning giving it that spicy kick, another reason why they chose these colours for the logo.