Kenny Rufino is the EVP / Creative Director of REQ, an award-winning digital marketing agency that works with brands like Sweetgreen, CHOPT, Cava, and a range of other businesses and non-profits. Kenny works with the creative team to deliver imaginative solutions across all media. He practices user-centric communicative design and strongly believes that good design is more than how something looks or works—it's also very much about how it makes people feel.
Kenny Rufino
Creative Director, REQ
What are some successful visual motifs or design strategies for food brands right now?
We are actually seeing a lot of design crossover spanning different industries. Previously, there was a more rigid visual distinction between what a food brand looked, and what a hospitality brand or a clothing brand looked like. Now, you are starting to see them sort of intersect. There are still design motifs that are specific to food, but things are all sort of blending together, and brands are borrowing trends and traits across industries.
At REQ, we worked on Sweetgreen, which was a really interesting case, because they've really evolved their visual identity [into a lifestyle]. Their branding has always been quite minimal, with a similarly minimal color palette. But they are also using materials really well, especially in their physical stores. Sweetgreen sort of jumpstarted this “food as lifestyle” trend, and so the whole experience for a consumer, and the identity of the store, has to fit their brand. You see a lot of food brands are now creating an ecosystem of visual elements as part of their whole identity.
What makes a food business’s branding stand out?
Many [food] brands’ logo designs have gravitated towards a really simple sans-serif. We may be at a tipping point right now, where [consumers] are getting over-saturated with that approach. Some brands have already reacted to this over-saturation, and it's led them to stand out. The Chobani redesign is a great example of this—they had to stand out because everybody was copying the old Chobani branding. So they went in the opposite direction. They pulled in references ranging from 70s typography to Americana craft and folk art. The result is that the current Chobani identity feels tactile.
Since then, other [food] brands have also been experimenting with that. Designers are starting to do things differently and it's making their work stand out. Overall, it is more about creating a lifestyle, so that there will be multiple touchpoints for customers or potential customers to engage with the brand. It's not just about the food anymore.
What is your approach to branding (and storytelling) for a food business?
When working for a food brand, it is important to remember that, at the end of the day, their product is food. Humans have a close and intimate relationship with food—it's required for survival and a part of our daily lives. Food has incredibly emotional attributes and associations that help us make design decisions. Let’s say that a particular food brand is described as comforting, nourishing, and satisfying. Those are very emotional words, and they will inform an art director’s use of typography, color palettes, materials and imagery to set that particular tone. We start by creating the big picture, and then use that to inform all of the granular design decisions. If you're not thinking from that overarching emotional identity, then you will end up making “knee jerk” reactionary designs, resulting in a hodgepodge of elements that don’t maintain a connection. Even if you have very talented designers, trying to make those disparate elements work will inevitably result in a disconnected brand. While the average consumer isn't going to point it out right away—they make not articulate that the colors don't really complement one another, or that the typography feels off—they are going to feel the difference. Consumers are savvier than ever, and they are subconsciously going to notice that your brand is disjointed. Audiences are acutely more aware of inconsistencies in branding and they notice when an experience is not cohesive. We partner with other firms (interior designers and architects) to make sure the in-store experience matches the identity we’re creating, and that consumers feel consistency every time they encounter the brand.
What about communicating environmentally or socially responsible values through branding? Is consistency even more important for impact-oriented food brands?
If one of your brand attributes is a commitment to the environment or sustainability, but you're using plastic straws in some of your locations, there is a serious disconnect there. The potential for damage to the brand could be massive, since people are fiercely supportive of those values, and will notice that inconsistency. You have to be completely committed and authentic about your branding. The issue of greenwashing is one that I have been thinking a lot about. The increase in brands committed to sustainability and environmental efforts has led some companies to make unsubstantiated sustainability claims just to capitalize on that momentum. But if those claims are not really part of their brand DNA, if they don’t really ring true, then they come across as hollow and opportunistic.
An example is a packaging initiative by Kit-Kat in Japan. They wanted to do something that was unique to Kit Kat’s identity in Japan, and at the same time, show that they were working on sustainability initiatives. So they changed their packaging from plastic wrappers to a type of paper wrapper that you can create origami with after you were done eating. So they merged several ideas there—[Japanese] heritage, culture, art, and even technology, as well as the playfulness of the Kit-Kat brand. It's an interesting example of expressing sustainability values.
What is the future of “health” food branding? Have you worked with brands trying to envision a new, more contemporary type of branding for healthy food?
We just launched a fast-casual brand called Kaliflower in Chicago which is an Indian-inspired concept with a health component to the food. But the "healthy" aspect didn’t manifest itself visually in the branding—the colors were more about sumptuous reds, purples and oranges. We did have some tones of green in the identity, but we used them mostly as accents. The branding was primarily about the experience and the journey related to Kaliflower, and how customers could have a sort of evocative experience. And then as a secondary or additional part of the story: It's also good for you. We thought that it was a successful story-telling.
Where do you think the direction of food branding is heading? What should we keep an eye out for in 2020?
Trends are cyclical, and so a lot of new or interesting design motifs that arise are actually reactions to sameness. If you think back to about two or three years ago, every storefront or eatery was using a millennial pink color. (And neon lights.) People loved that, and so lots of brands jumped on that train. However, as a reaction to that, you're seeing less of those muted, dusty color palettes. Plenty of brands are still using them, but you're starting to see really bold colors instead. It's almost a return to the Memphis movement with Ettore Sottsass and 80s colors. I think it’s a reaction to [what came before it].
Even “Instagram”-style photography (of neon signs, for example) is starting to go away. We are seeing reactions to that [oversaturation] too. More designers are using illustrations in addition to photography so that brands can have their own unique visual elements. We’re seeing illustrations on packaging, on in-store signage, and on menus, ranging from hand sketches to abstract shapes to very detailed, realistic illustrations. Eventually, of course, we're going to reach a point where we're going to be completely oversaturated with illustrations, too.
In terms of what happens next, we have to remember that design culture and trends are influenced by what's happening in the world and in society. Everybody knows that 2020 is a big [election] year. I think we'll need to see what the mood is and what the climate is, and then see how designers react to that—how they are feeling and how they want to express themselves through their work.
