McDonald’s is one of the most visible brands in the world and has built their business on operational consistency. However, their global marketing efforts have become inconsistent and fragmented as most communications focused on individual product stories and lack category differentiation. Our challenge was to develop a dynamic, inspirational design system that allows the brand to be more contemporary, exciting and globally consistent. The objectives were to strip away the visual noise around brand messaging, express the brand strategy of creating feel-good moments for everyone and celebrate the brand equities that have been overlooked through time.

By creating a design system that celebrates key brand assets, we developed a visual identity that is unmistakably McDonald’s. This began by stripping away the visual noise from their promotional and marketing materials and creating space for key brand assets to be the primary focus. We also looked for opportunities to express their brand promise, Making delicious feel-good moments easy for everyone, and show that even the most basic touchpoint allows for a feel-good moment. In doing this, we defined a set of design tools for use, but also allowed flexibility to ensure use across all touchpoints.

We worked with McDonald’s to develop a design strategy and execution across a number of global touchpoints. This included developing a set of information-rich Design Cheatsheets and the brand’s first Global Digital Design Hub for the brand to use for inspiration and guidance as they became familiar with the system.

We’re driving brand confidence and providing an opportunity for McDonald’s to redefine themselves as a golden brand, by elevating the use of the Golden Arches. We also created a custom typeface that plays off the curves of the Golden Arches, delivering modernity and global consistency. Additionally, we developed a library of playful pattern to highlight well-known, globally recognized products. And we’ve redefined the McDonald’s product photography style to hero the food and drive differentiation within the QSR category.

The visual identity was released to the global McDonald’s system in September 2018 and can be seen in 120 markets around the world. This includes global marketing and communications, in-store signage and kiosks, packaging, internal/corporate communication, digital experiences: social media, website, and app. The online global Digital Design Hub is accessed by McDonald’s marketing teams and over 120 agency partners around the world.

To tease the release of the Visual Identity to the McDonald’s organization, we developed an apparel collection to be sold at their bi-annual Global Convention. The apparel was in such high-demand that it primarily sold out on Day 1 of the week-long Convention.