So a lot of startups in those industries, gravitate to LA to try their luck.
Now, all of them will need proper branding of sorts, to even have a fighting chance of survival. Some of them will create something amazing while some will just miss the mark all together. All of them will hire a design agency, or a friend of a friend or a cousin or some brave owners will even attempt to design their logo themselves.
Today I am highlighting three local LA home "grown" companies. All food / drink related because I feel the food industry is the most egregious when it comes to developing bad logos. They always take it so literally. If its meat related they put a cow. If its chicken, well, you get the point. Some pull it off. But many don't.
To all people living on the westside of Los Angeles, I am sure you have encountered at least one of the following brands I am about to highlight, The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, Tender Greens and Kreation.
First up, Coffee Bean. The logo was as literal as it gets. It had a coffee bean and a tea leaf typeset in an ugly font in a circle. As seen below, it felt dated from day one and just so poorly executed. I remember seeing it for the first time back in '93 or '94 at their Malibu location and I remember saying to myself, what a crappy logo. It's 2017 and I am looking at it and am saying to myself, what a crappy logo. Finally, someone, somewhere convinced management that it was time to simplify it and make it better.
Still the same theme but simpler, crisper, more balanced and more legible. Undoubtedly much better in my opinion. Conservative in its redesign for sure but it works.
Next up is a restaurant chain called Tender Greens. I used to see these sprout up everywhere throughout the city. As you can tell from their old logo, it was about as generic as they come. It was also quite possibly one of the worst logos I have ever seen for a company of this size. (Actually of any size.) Tender Greens surely did a 180 on this one. They apparently shifted their business model to include more items on the menu and that obviously called for a more neutral approach. I get it. But with a name like Tender Greens will it make a huge difference? What's in a name? Well in this case a lot. Hey TG, in the mind of the consumer you are still making salads. It reminds me of another restaurant chain here in LA, which goes by California Pizza Kitchen. Would you ever think that with a name like that they would be serving Szechwan chicken dumplings as appetizers? Yeah, neither would I. In these two cases, do you ever really escape the salad or pizza connotations no matter how many rebranding exercises you go through? Lesson learned here. When naming your company look ahead and see where you want it to be 5 - 10 years years down the line. Important when building brand equity. And do shy away from using your name. You will forever be inextricably associated with the company. Dare I mention Harvey Weinstein here?
The third company is called Kreation. Started out as a juice place and now offering salads etc. Their name is neutral enough to expand in its offerings. Kudos to them for looking ahead.
I have to say I am not a big fan of using different sounding letters for spelling, like using a K instead of a C, but in this case, it somewhat works. The logotype is again a classic example of a literal, predictable and poorly executed approach. The leaves are too big and the letter K is completely disconnected from the rest of the letters. And the "Eat Organic" in white and the green lines complicates matters even more. I think their juices and offerings are great, albeit expensive. $12.95 for a smoothie I think is a little excessive. There is no rebranding of Kreation as of yet. So I am putting a big question mark next to it. I am not going to hold my breath, but if and when it happens, you will know where you read about it first.
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