Burger King Brand History

Burger King is a fast-food restaurant chain, which was established in 1953 in the United States. The chain is famous for its hamburgers and french fries and today is one of the most popular fast-food brands worldwide with almost 18 locations across the globe. The company is owned by Restaurant Brands International, headquartered in Florida, and has almost 35 thousand employees.

Meaning and history

The visual identity of the world’s famous fast-food chain had five redesigns during the company’s history. It took the brand 16 years to find its signature style and three various logos were created from 1953 until 1969. However, after the success of 1969, the chain only refined and modified the iconic emblem, keeping the color palette and compositions almost untouched.
The logo of Burger King is a reflection of a modern and powerful company, which values tradition and legacy. Its emblem is a perfect reflection of the company’s nature and purpose, instantly recognizable across the globe.

1953 — 1954

The company, known as Insta Burger King for the first year of its existence, got its first logo in 1953. It was a bold all-caps wordmark with half of the sun, rising from it. A bright and friendly emblem, which stayed with the brand for only one year.

1954 — 1957

The name was changed to Burger King in 1954, after the acquisition of the restaurants by David Edgerton and James McLamore. The logo was changed to a minimalist bold inscription in a custom sans-serif typeface, with uneven edges of the letters. It was a simple logotype, without any additional details, which was the symbol of the brand for three years.

1957 — 1969

The typeface and color palette of the logo was changed in 1957. Now the red lettering was placed on a light ochre background, looking bright and memorable. The font was changed to a bolder and neater one, it was something close to the TILT font, a modern sans-serif with playful letters.
The new logo featured a delicate “Home of the Whopper” tagline, where all letters except for “Whopper” were black.

1969 — 1994

The prototype of the iconic Bun logo was created in 1969. The red bold lettering was placed in two levels between two halves of the bun, colored in ochre. The color palette was taken from the previous logo version, yet the style, composition, and shape were completely different.
The inscription was now executed in a bold rounded sans-serif with sleek smooth lines. The “King” part was enlarged, to create a better balance between the layers.

1994 — 1999

The company refined the logo in 1994. The typeface is now more traditional and solid, while the ochre of the buns was changed to bright orange, making the logo more energetic and strong. The red and orange color palette symbolizes passion and young free spirit, showing the main audience of the company.
The wordmark in all capitals is executed in a bold rounded sans-serif, which is close to VAG Rounded ExtraBold font, but with the letter “G” and tails of both “R”s flattened, which makes the inscription look more solid and confident.
This logo is still in use by the restaurant chain in some of the countries and is as recognizable as the new one.

1999 — Today

In 1999 the Burger King logo was redesigned by Sterling Brands agency. The wordmark between the bun-halves was now placed diagonally, with buns colored yellow with some white strokes. The red lettering is now enlarged and executed in a new modern sans-serif typeface with sleek lines and sharp angles.
Today’s version of the logo has a rounded shape, unlike the previous ones. The emblem has a blue C-shape line, framing in on the left, an accent, making the logo brighter and more professional, adding confidence, and a sense of expertise.
The Burger King logo is one of the most iconic visual identity designs in history, it is perfectly balanced in terms of color and shapes, and evokes a friendly and welcoming feeling.

Symbol

The Burger King logo uses three colors: red, yellow, and blue, which create an extremely attractive and tempting mix. It makes you want to rush to the nearest Burger King restaurant regardless of your gender, age, confession, occupation, etc.