In 1995, Debbie Millman was recruited by Sterling Brands (Heller, 2019). Sterling Brands, at the time, was a leading design firm. Debbie started in sales and then eventually worked her way up to being president of the company (Heller, 2019). One of her biggest projects while working with Sterling Brands was her work on the Burger King logo.

As many of us know, Burger King is an American fast-food chain that is very popular across America. Burger King opened in 1954, and up until 1999, Burger King had a logo that looked a lot like this.

In 1999, Burger King was seeking to redesign so they asked Millman, and the folx over at Sterling Brands, to create a logo for them that was refreshing, yet simple and familiar. You can see with the original logo, Burger King is written in red writing and is sandwiched between two pieces of tan bread that resemble burger buns. This was definitely a classic logo and it was appealing for most customers, but Burger King was seeking something new that would perhaps attract more customers. I definitely lean towards the logo created in 1999 because of the blue and yellow colors. I feel heavy and kinda “blah” when I look at the original logo whereas with the logo created in 1999 I feel light, clean, and drawn to the restaurant. It is funny that I chose this example because upon my research today, Burger King is actually in the process of switching over all of their restaurants to have the original logo placed back on it. I think it is a trend now to have a “vintage” vibe on things whether it be clothing, music, or food. It doesn’t surprise me that Burger King has switched back to their original look to suit the audience, but it doesn’t make the work by Millman any less impactful or important.

Sources:

Images and Information found at:

Steven Heller. (2019, March 25). Debbie Millman. The Professional Association for Design. https://www.aiga.org/medalist-debbie-millman