Famous Fast Food Logos Examples You Should Know

Fast food logos are the symbols and wordmarks chains like McDonald’s, KFC, Subway and Taco Bell put on every sign, cup and app icon. The best fast food logo examples rely on one simple shape, a short name and two or three bold colors, usually red, yellow or orange, so drivers can read them in a second.

Every successful restaurant chain understands a basic truth: customers choose where to eat within seconds. That split-second decision often depends on which logo design they recognize first.

From McDonald’s Golden Arches to the arrows on Subway’s S and Y, each corporate logo leans on color psychology and a few repeatable shapes. Some were drawn by famous agencies, while many were never credited to anyone at all.

This guide looks at how major food chain brands like Burger King, KFC and Taco Bell built their brand symbols: who designed each current logo, when it arrived, what came before it, and which colors and fonts it uses.

Fast Food Logos

The table below compares the current logos of the chains covered in this guide. “Not publicly credited” means the company has never named a designer or agency for that version.

Wendy’s logo

The Wendy’s logo is a combination mark: a circular cameo of a red-haired, freckled girl with pigtails and blue bows, above a red hand-drawn “Wendy’s” script. San Francisco design firm Tesser created the current version, which Wendy’s unveiled in October 2012 and rolled out in March 2013.

Design Origins: Dave Thomas opened the first Wendy’s in Columbus, Ohio, on November 15, 1969, and named it after his daughter Melinda Lou “Wendy” Thomas. The first logo was already a cameo of the pigtailed girl.

Previous Version: From 1983 to 2013, the portrait sat above a blocky “Wendy’s” wordmark with “Old Fashioned Hamburgers.” The 2012 redesign dropped that line, loosened the lettering into a script and gave Wendy a simpler, more modern face.

Colors and Typography: Red approx. #DD173B and blue approx. #00AAE8, sampled from the current logo, plus white. The script is custom hand-drawn lettering, not a downloadable font.

Taco Bell logo

The Taco Bell logo is a combination mark: an open, outlined bell icon, usually purple, above a bold all-caps “TACO BELL” wordmark. Lippincott designed it with Taco Bell’s in-house design group, TBD, and the company unveiled it on November 14, 2016, the same day it opened its Las Vegas Strip flagship.

Design Elements: The bell is drawn as an outline, so it can be filled with colors, patterns and photos. That flexibility lets the same mark work on a cup, a billboard or an app screen.

Previous Version: From the mid-1990s to 2016, Taco Bell used a yellow bell on magenta and purple shapes with custom lettering. Glen Bell opened the first Taco Bell in Downey, California, in 1962.

Colors and Typography: Purple approx. #692B90, sampled from the current logo, with a black or white wordmark. Taco Bell’s creative director has said the type is Gotham in a heavy weight; Montserrat is a close free alternative.

Subway logo

The Subway logo is a wordmark with “SUB” in yellow and “WAY” in green, plus arrows on the first S and the final Y. Turner Duckworth designed the current version, which Subway revealed in August 2016 and rolled out worldwide in 2017.

Design Origins: Fred DeLuca, then 17, opened the first shop in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on August 28, 1965, as Pete’s Super Submarines, with a $1,000 loan from family friend Peter Buck. Turner Duckworth said the 2016 lettering was inspired by the original 1960s Pete’s Subway signage.

Previous Version: The 2002 to 2016 logo was an italic wordmark in white and yellow with a green outline. The new design flattened it and added a square “Choice Mark” monogram for social media and apps.

Colors and Typography: Green approx. #009A47 and yellow approx. #FFCA0A, sampled from the current logo. The lettering is custom typography, and the brand’s own typefaces, Footlong and Six-Inch, are not publicly available. Using green set Subway apart from the red-heavy color theory most burger chains follow.

Pizza Hut logo

The Pizza Hut logo is a red roof shape above the “Pizza Hut” name, based on the chain’s red-roofed restaurant buildings. Brothers Dan and Frank Carney founded Pizza Hut in Wichita, Kansas, on May 31, 1958.

Design Origins: The roof logo was created in 1974 by Pizza Hut marketing executive Sam Moyers with the agency Lippincott & Margulies. It became one of the most familiar shapes in American dining.

Previous Versions: From 2014 to 2019, Pizza Hut used a red “sauce swirl” circle by Deutsch LA. In 2019 it revived the 1974 roof, and in 2025 it updated it with a tilted roof and slanted, all-red lettering, rolled out market by market starting with the UK, Canada and South Africa. No designer has been publicly credited for the 2025 update.

Colors and Typography: Red approx. #FB3B48 and near-black approx. #211917, sampled from the 1974/2019 logo; the 2025 version is all red. The custom lettering was later expanded into the “Pizza Hut Font” by Simon Walker with GSD&M, which is not sold publicly.

Arby’s logo

The Arby’s logo is a combination mark: a red, single-line cowboy hat drawn around a slab-serif “Arby’s” wordmark. It was introduced in October 2013 and reached signs and packaging from 2014. No designer has been publicly credited for this version.

Design Origins: Brothers Forrest and Leroy Raffel opened the first Arby’s in Boardman, Ohio, on July 23, 1964. The hat comes from the hat-shaped neon signs at those first restaurants.

Previous Version: The 2012 to 2013 logo was a glossy 3D hat with lowercase “arby’s,” made with Crispin Porter + Bogusky and partners. It flopped, and the 2013 logo returned to the chain’s pre-2012 look.

Colors and Typography: Arby’s red #DC0032, taken from the official logo file and website, on white. A single red keeps the color scheme simple. The slab-serif lettering is custom, and no retail font has been named.

Little Caesars logo

The Little Caesars logo is a combination mark: a cartoon Roman emperor in a toga and laurel wreath, holding a pizza on a spear, paired with an orange wordmark. The current version was introduced in 2017. Turner Duckworth led the refresh, and type foundry MCKL remastered the lettering.

Design Origins: Mike and Marian Ilitch opened the first store in Garden City, Michigan, on May 8, 1959, as Little Caesar’s Pizza Treat. The original character has never been credited to a named designer.

Previous Version: From 1988 to 2017, the chain used a more cartoonish Caesar with chest hair and a plain toga. The 2017 refresh cleaned up the drawing and the type without losing the character.

Colors and Typography: Orange #FF671B, black and white. The lettering is custom, not a retail font; only fan-made look-alikes exist online.

Dairy Queen logo

The Dairy Queen logo is a red, lip-shaped badge carrying white italic “DQ” letters, framed by an orange arc above and a blue swoosh below. It was introduced in February 2007 as the brand’s first major overhaul in decades. No designer or agency has been publicly credited.

Design Origins: The first Dairy Queen opened in Joliet, Illinois, on June 22, 1940, selling soft serve developed by John Fremont “Grandpa” McCullough and his son Alex, with Sherb Noble running the store.

Previous Version: From the late 1950s to 2007, the red ellipse carried “Dairy Queen” in white sans-serif letters. The 2007 version shortened the name to “DQ” and added the arc and swoosh.

Colors and Typography: Red approx. #EF3F42, blue approx. #007AC2 and orange approx. #FAAB53, plus white. The letters are custom italic serifs, and no commercial font matches exactly. The orange and blue accents give the red badge more visual marketing punch on signs.

Panda Express logo

The Panda Express logo is a combination mark: a panda bear illustration with the brand name in red lettering. The current circular version, with the descriptor “Chinese Kitchen,” was filed as a trademark in October 2014 and registered in March 2016. No designer or agency has been publicly credited.

Design Origins: The first Panda Express opened in October 1983 in the food court of the Glendale Galleria in Glendale, California. Andrew and Peggy Cherng created it as a fast-food spin-off of Panda Inn, the Pasadena restaurant Andrew and his father, chef Ming-Tsai Cherng, opened in 1973.

Previous Version: Earlier panda logos carried the descriptor “Gourmet Chinese Food.” The original ran from 1983 to 2009.

Colors and Typography: Red #D61927, near-black #0A1B22 and white. The lettering is custom; bold sans-serifs such as Archivo or Montserrat are common free look-alikes.

McDonald’s logo

The McDonald’s logo is the Golden Arches: two yellow arches joined into an “M”. Jim Schindler drew the M logo in 1962, based on the arches architect Stanley Meston gave the restaurants in 1953. The current flat version, usually shown without the wordmark, has been in use since 2006.

Design Origins: Dick and Mac McDonald opened a barbecue drive-in in San Bernardino, California, in 1940. Ray Kroc opened his first franchised McDonald’s in Des Plaines, Illinois, in April 1955 and bought out the brothers in 1961.

Previous Versions: From 2003 to 2006, the arches were used with the “i’m lovin’ it” campaign. Before that, they usually sat on a red background, a color palette people still link to the brand.

Colors and Typography: Gold approx. #FFC72C (some references list #FFCC00) and red #DA291C. The brand typeface is Speedee, a custom design by Dalton Maag that replaced Lovin’ Sans and other fonts around 2018 to 2019. There is no free version. The simple arch shape and constant repetition on every store and package are what make it so easy to spot.

Shake Shack logo

The Shake Shack logo is the name “SHAKE SHACK” in black geometric capitals with a green, line-drawn burger icon between the two words. Paula Scher of Pentagram designed the original Neutraface wordmark for the first Shack in 2004, and Pentagram expanded the identity in 2008 as the chain grew.

Design Origins: The brand started as a hot dog cart in New York’s Madison Square Park, and the first permanent Shack opened in the park in 2004.

Previous Version: The 2008 Pentagram system used “Shake Shack” in green-and-black script with the burger icon. The current burger lockup has no documented launch date; logo archives place it around 2010.

Colors and Typography: Green approx. #55A335 and near-black approx. #0E0E0E, sampled from the current logo. The wordmark uses Neutraface by House Industries, and the 2008 system added Galaxie Cassiopeia script and Futura.

Domino’s Pizza logo

The Domino’s Pizza logo is a tilted domino tile, red on top and blue below, with three white dots, usually shown beside a “Domino’s” wordmark. The single-tile design arrived in 2012 and was refreshed in October 2025 with hotter colors and a custom font, Domino’s Sans. Domino’s has not publicly credited a designer.

Design Origins: In 1960, Tom Monaghan and his brother Jim took over a small pizza shop called DomiNick’s in Ypsilanti, Michigan. By 1965 the original owner wouldn’t let Monaghan keep that name, which led to “Domino’s.”

Previous Version: From 1996 to 2012, the domino tile sat next to “Domino’s Pizza” in a blue rectangle. Dropping the word “Pizza” in 2012 signaled a wider menu.

Colors and Typography: The 2012 palette is widely cited as red approx. #E31837 and blue approx. #006491. The 2025 shades are brighter, and no official codes have been published. The tile works because of strong contrast between the two halves and the white dots.

Chick-fil-A logo

The Chick-fil-A logo is a red script “Chick-fil-A” wordmark whose capital “C” is drawn as a chicken’s head, with a comb, an eye and a beak. That chicken is Doodles, the brand’s original rooster mascot. No designer has been publicly credited.

Design Origins: Truett Cathy opened his first restaurant, the Dwarf Grill, in Hapeville, Georgia, in 1946. The first stand-alone Chick-fil-A opened in Atlanta’s Greenbriar Mall in 1967, and the chicken-C has been used since the 1960s and 70s.

Previous Version: From 1998 to 2012, the logo was a red-on-white script with an open-beak chicken. Today’s version is a refinement from around 2012; Chick-fil-A has not published an official logo timeline.

Colors and Typography: Brand red #DD0031 on white. The script is hand-drawn and is not a downloadable font. The website uses Apercu and Rooney.

Five Guys logo

The Five Guys logo is a red, all-caps sans-serif wordmark reading “FIVE GUYS,” usually set above the hand-lettered tagline “BURGERS and FRIES.” No designer or agency has been publicly credited.

Design Origins: Jerry and Janie Murrell founded the company with their sons as a small family carry-out in Arlington, Virginia, in 1986.

Previous Version: From 1986 into the 2000s, Five Guys used a serif “FIVE GUYS” with “FAMOUS BURGERS and FRIES” between checkered bands. The bold sans-serif version replaced it in the 2000s (Logos-World dates it to 2005; Five Guys has not published a date), and it has stayed essentially unchanged since.

Colors and Typography: Red #C92027 is widely cited but not published by Five Guys, with white and a red-and-white checkered border. The font has not been officially named; the wordmark is closest to Helvetica Black, a heavy sans-serif font, and the tagline resembles Tekton Bold.

Tim Hortons logo

The Tim Hortons logo is a red wordmark that spells the brand name in a flowing, signature-style script. The current version was designed by Geoff Halpin for the London agency Turner Duckworth as part of a 2017 rebrand.

Design Origins: The first shop opened in Hamilton, Ontario, on May 17, 1964, as “Tim Horton Donuts.” The chain has used a handwritten script, in one form or another, ever since.

Previous Version: The 1990s “Tim Hortons” script often appeared with the “Always Fresh” tagline. Maple leaves show up on some seasonal cups and Canadian campaigns, but they are not part of the logo.

Colors and Typography: Red approx. #C60031, sampled from the current logo, on white. The script is custom hand lettering, and the brand fonts are Autograph, based on the logo, and Sofia.

Hardee’s logo

The Hardee’s logo is a combination mark: a smiling yellow “Happy Star” with a red shadow next to a script “Hardee’s” wordmark. The current version is the September 2022 refresh by agency Design Bridge, which gave the star a charbroiled texture.

Design Origins: Wilber Hardee opened the first restaurant in Greenville, North Carolina, in September 1960. The star came from sister brand Carl’s Jr. around 1998 to 1999, after both chains came under CKE Restaurants.

Previous Version: The 2006 logo paired the star with a script wordmark and a red banner. The original star designer has never been publicly credited.

Colors and Typography: Yellow #FFC72C and red #CE1329, from the official logo file on hardees.com, plus black or white for the wordmark. The script is custom, and no retail font has been named.

Papa John’s logo

The Papa John’s logo is a bold red wordmark that reads “PAPA JOHNS,” without the apostrophe, often paired with the green tagline “Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.” It was unveiled on November 16, 2021, and was created with Su Mathews Hale Design, while London agency Forpeople built the wider visual identity around it.

Design Origins: John Schnatter founded the company in 1984 in Jeffersonville, Indiana, after installing a pizza oven in a broom closet at Mick’s Lounge, his father’s tavern.

Previous Version: From the 1990s to 2021, the red “PAPA JOHN’S” wordmark sat in a green-outlined arched badge with a “PIZZA” banner on top. The 2021 logo dropped the badge and the apostrophe.

Colors and Typography: Red approx. #FF0000 and green approx. #2E522C, sampled from the current logo. The lettering is custom, and Colophon Foundry drew a custom brand typeface with no widely known free equivalent.

Jollibee logo

The Jollibee logo is a stacked mascot logo: the smiling head of Jollibee, a red bee in a white chef’s hat, above a rounded red “Jollibee” wordmark. The current version has been in use since 2011, and no outside designer has been publicly credited.

Design Origins: Tony Tan Caktiong and his family opened a Magnolia ice cream parlor in Cubao, Quezon City, in 1975 and turned it into the first Jollibee in 1978. A bee has been part of the logo since then, and the early identity came from the founding team, advised by consultant Manuel C. Lumba.

Previous Version: From 1996 to 2011, the bee head faced right above a deeper red “Jollibee” wordmark.

Colors and Typography: Red #DA001C, near-black outline #222221 and white, from Jollibee’s own logo file. The wordmark is based on VAG Rounded Black; Nunito and Fredoka are free lookalikes.

Quiznos logo

The Quiznos logo is an all-caps “QUIZNOS” wordmark in bright lime green, with no symbol. REGO Restaurant Group introduced it in 2021 after consumer research with the brand consultancy Prophet. No individual designer has been publicly credited.

Design Origins: Jimmy Lambatos opened the first Quiznos in Denver, Colorado, in 1981 with partner Todd Disner, and the chain is still based there.

Previous Version: From the early 2000s to 2021, Quiznos used a red and green “Q” symbol above a green “Quiznos” wordmark. That earlier “Q” logo is credited to Tesser.

Colors and Typography: Lime green approx. #B0FF00, sampled from the current logo. The heavy all-caps letters have small slab serifs, and the font has not been publicly identified.

Chipotle Mexican Grill logo

The Chipotle Mexican Grill logo is a round medallion: a red ring with “Chipotle Mexican Grill” in white around a brown circle holding a white chili pepper. San Francisco studio Sequence designed it in 2009. The pepper stands for the chipotle, a smoked, dried jalapeño.

Design Origins: Steve Ells opened the first Chipotle Mexican Grill on July 13, 1993, in a former ice cream shop near the University of Denver.

Previous Version: From 1993 to 2009, the logo was a black, gray and white circle with hand-drawn, Papyrus-like lettering and Bank Gothic. Its designer has not been publicly credited.

Colors and Typography: Red #AC2318, brown #441500 and white, from the official chipotle.com logo file. The bold rounded sans-serif is close to Gotham with custom tweaks; Montserrat is a free alternative. The ring and pepper show good balance around a single center point.

Auntie Anne’s logo

The Auntie Anne’s logo is a combination mark: an orange pretzel icon next to a heavy blue “Auntie Anne’s” wordmark. The pretzel’s center crossing reads as a letter “A”. Owner GoTo Foods dropped the halo in 2023 and rolled the new logo out with remodeled stores in 2025. No designer or agency has been publicly credited.

Design Origins: The company started in 1988, when Anne Beiler and her husband Jonas took over a pretzel stand at the farmers’ market in Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

Previous Version: From 2006 to 2023, the logo showed a gold pretzel with a halo and a heavy serif wordmark.

Colors and Typography: Blue #000F9F and orange approx. #FF9E18, sampled from the current logo file. The bold sans-serif lettering is custom, and no retail font has been named.

Carl’s Jr. logo

The Carl’s Jr. logo is a combination mark: a smiling yellow star called the Happy Star next to a bold, slanted “Carl’s Jr.” wordmark. The current version was introduced on September 22, 2022, and created with Design Bridge.

Design Origins: Carl Karcher and his wife Margaret started the business on July 17, 1941, with a hot dog cart in Los Angeles. The star goes back to the neon sign on Karcher’s 1945 drive-in and became the chain’s mascot in 1956.

Previous Version: From 2018 to 2022, the Happy Star had a red outline and a simplified wordmark. The 2022 star added motion lines the brand calls the “flavor trail.”

Colors and Typography: Yellow #FFC72C, red #CE1329, black and white, from the official carlsjr.com logo file. The wordmark is custom with no published font name; brand headlines use Arpona.

In-N-Out Burger logo

The In-N-Out Burger logo is a combination mark: bold red “IN-N-OUT” capitals with a smaller “BURGER” below, wrapped by a yellow boomerang arrow that points right. No individual designer or sign company has been publicly credited.

Design Origins: Harry and Esther Snyder opened the first stand in Baldwin Park, California, in October 1948. The arrow joined the sign in 1954, replacing the stand’s original “No Delay” sign.

Previous Version: The 1948 to 1954 sign had no arrow. The lettering has been refined since, but In-N-Out has never announced a redesign.

Colors and Typography: Red approx. #E02A29 and yellow approx. #FFCB05, sampled from the current logo, plus white. The bold uppercase lettering is custom; Logos-World likens it to Futura No. 8. The arrow keeps the proportions of the wordmark tight and readable.

Burger King logo

The Burger King logo shows the name “Burger King” in red between two orange bun halves. Jones Knowles Ritchie designed the current version, revealed in January 2021 as the chain’s first full rebrand in about 20 years.

Design Origins: The bun logo dates back to 1969. The 2021 design is a flat, simplified throwback to the versions Burger King used from 1969 to 1999.

Previous Version: From 1999 to 2020, the logo added a blue swoosh around a glossier burger. The 2021 rebrand removed the blue and returned to food colors.

Colors and Typography: The palette is built on red, orange and a deep brown. The lettering uses Flame, a custom typeface made for the 2021 identity, with rounded, bold shapes inspired by the food.

Starbucks logo

The Starbucks logo is a green, wordless circle showing a twin-tailed siren from Greek mythology. Starbucks introduced the current version in January 2011, ahead of its 40th anniversary, after working with Lippincott and its in-house design team.

Design Origins: Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker opened Starbucks at Pike Place Market in Seattle on March 30, 1971. The first logo, widely credited to designer Terry Heckler, was a brown circle with a full twin-tailed siren, based on an old woodcut.

Previous Versions: In 1987, after Howard Schultz bought the company, the logo turned green and the siren’s hair covered her body. The 1992 version cropped in closer, leaving only traces of the tails. In 2011 the “Starbucks Coffee” ring was removed and the siren was enlarged.

Colors and Typography: Green, widely cited as #00704A, on white. Since 2011 the main logo has no lettering at all, and a wordless, monochrome colors approach makes it easy to apply to any cup.

Other Famous Fast Food Logos

These brands do not have an image in this guide, but each has its own detailed logo history.

KFC logo

The KFC logo is a black-and-white portrait of founder Colonel Harland Sanders inside a red-striped bucket shape, above bold italic “KFC” letters. The bucket version arrived around 2018, and agency JKR refreshed it in June 2026 with the custom Kentucky Fried Serif and Kentucky Fried Sans typefaces. The very first logo, created by Lippincott & Margulies, dates to 1952, and the brand officially adopted the name “KFC” in 1991. KFC red is widely cited as #E4002B.

Baskin-Robbins logo

The Baskin-Robbins logo is a “BR” monogram whose pink sections form the number 31, for 31 flavors. Agency ChangeUp designed the current version, launched in April 2022, which swapped blue for chocolate brown. The hidden 31 itself dates back to the 2006 logo, and Jones Knowles Ritchie refreshed the mark in 2020.

Dunkin’ logo

The Dunkin’ logo is “DUNKIN'” in chunky, rounded orange letters with a pink apostrophe. It was introduced in January 2019 after Jones Knowles Ritchie redesigned the identity with BBDO New York and Arc Worldwide. The lettering is Dunkin’ Sans, a custom font by Colophon Foundry based on the brand’s 1970s Frankfurter-style type. Brand orange is #FF671F and pink is #DA1884.

Crumbl logo

The Crumbl logo is a simple black “crumbl” wordmark on Crumbl Pink, introduced in November 2023. Turner Duckworth led the refresh, with the logotype by Alec Tear and the custom Crumbl Sans typeface by Kilotype. It replaced the 2017-era logo, which paired the “Bakerhead” baker mascot with the words “Crumbl Cookies.”

Dave’s Hot Chicken logo

The Dave’s Hot Chicken logo pairs a round badge showing a cartoon screaming chicken with a bold red “Dave’s Hot Chicken” wordmark. It dates from the brand’s May 2017 launch as a parking lot stand in East Hollywood, Los Angeles. No designer or agency has been publicly credited, and the company has never announced a redesign.

Olive Garden logo

The Olive Garden logo is a white, loopy script wordmark on a brown background, with a small yellow-green olive branch and the tagline “Italian Kitchen.” Darden unveiled it in March 2014 and said it was created with the design firm Lippincott. It replaced a grape cluster logo used since the late 1990s.

Wingstop logo

The Wingstop logo is an emblem in the style of a vintage pilot’s wings badge, with a round central emblem reading “The Wing Experts” and a “WINGSTOP” banner. Antonio Swad and Bernadette Fiaschetti founded the chain in Garland, Texas, in 1994, and the badge has been used since then. No designer has been publicly credited, and the main later change, around 2014, was a brighter green.

FAQ on Fast Food Logos

What are the most famous fast food logos?

The best-known examples include the McDonald’s Golden Arches, the KFC Colonel, the Burger King bun, the Starbucks siren, the Subway arrows, the Taco Bell bell, the Pizza Hut roof and the Domino’s tile. Each one uses a single simple symbol or a short wordmark in two or three bold colors.

Who designed the McDonald’s logo?

Jim Schindler drew the McDonald’s “M” logo in 1962. He based it on the arches architect Stanley Meston designed for the restaurant buildings in 1953. The current flat version has been in use since 2006 and has not been credited to a named designer.

Why do so many fast food logos use red and yellow?

Red and yellow are bright, warm and easy to see from a distance, which matters for roadside signs. McDonald’s, Burger King, Carl’s Jr., Hardee’s and In-N-Out all use them. Claims that red makes people hungrier come from color psychology theory rather than hard proof, and chains like Subway, Starbucks and Taco Bell show green or purple works too.

What fonts do fast food logos use?

Most fast food logos use custom lettering instead of a retail font. McDonald’s uses Speedee by Dalton Maag, Dunkin’ uses Dunkin’ Sans, Burger King uses Flame and Domino’s introduced Domino’s Sans in 2025. Taco Bell’s wordmark is set in a heavy Gotham, and Shake Shack’s uses Neutraface. Font psychology explains why rounded letters feel friendly.

Which fast food logos have no symbol?

Five Guys, Tim Hortons, Papa Johns, Quiznos, Crumbl and Dunkin’ all rely on a wordmark alone. They depend on color and lettering to stand out, such as Dunkin’s pink apostrophe or the Tim Hortons signature script.

Which fast food chains changed their logos recently?

KFC refreshed its bucket logo in June 2026, Domino’s updated its tile in October 2025, Pizza Hut tilted its roof in 2025 and Auntie Anne’s rolled out a new pretzel logo with its 2025 store design. Crumbl (2023), Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. (2022) and Baskin-Robbins (2022) also redesigned.

Which fast food logos brought back an older design?

Burger King’s 2021 logo returns to the look it used from 1969 to 1999. Arby’s went back to its pre-2012 hat in 2013 after a short-lived glossy redesign. Pizza Hut revived its 1974 roof in 2019, and Subway’s 2016 logo was inspired by its 1960s signage.

Which fast food logos show the food they sell?

Burger King frames its name with bun halves, Shake Shack uses a line-drawn burger, Chipotle shows a chili pepper and Auntie Anne’s uses a pretzel. Little Caesars shows its emperor holding a pizza on a spear.

Is there a McDonald’s with turquoise arches?

Yes. The McDonald’s in Sedona, Arizona, which opened in May 1993, uses turquoise arches instead of yellow. The franchise owner and the city settled on the color so the sign would blend with the desert landscape.

Which fast food logos use a mascot or a real person?

KFC shows founder Colonel Harland Sanders, Wendy’s shows the founder’s daughter, and Jollibee, Little Caesars, Dave’s Hot Chicken and the Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s Happy Star are all cartoon characters. Chick-fil-A hides its rooster, Doodles, in the letter “C.”

Can I use fast food logos in my own designs?

These logos are registered trademarks, so you can’t use them to suggest you’re linked to the brand or sell products with them. Showing them in news, reviews or commentary is generally treated differently, but rules vary by country. Companies usually supply logo files through their press pages, and following general brand guidelines best practice, like using vector graphics instead of low-resolution copies, keeps them sharp.

Conclusion

These examples of fast food logos show how simple graphics become some of the most valuable brand assets in the world. A pair of arches, a bun, a bell or a founder’s portrait is enough when it is repeated on every store, cup and app.

Successful food industry logos share a few traits: clear color theory choices, a memorable visual identity and shapes that still read at small sizes, which is where gestalt principles help. Red and yellow dominate, while Subway’s arrows, Taco Bell’s purple and Starbucks’ green prove there is room to stand apart.

The recent wave of redesigns at KFC, Domino’s, Pizza Hut and Burger King also shows a clear trend: flatter marks, custom fonts and a return to each brand’s own history. Good logo design in this industry rarely invents something new; it sharpens what customers already remember.

Sources

• Dezeen, Burger King rebrand by Jones Knowles Ritchie – https://www.dezeen.com/2021/01/09/burger-king-logo-rebrand-jones-knowles-ritchie/
• PRINT Magazine, The Burger King Rebrand: Design Fit for a King? – https://www.printmag.com/branding-identity-design/burger-king-rebrands-design-fit-for-a-king/
• Lippincott, Starbucks case study – https://www.lippincott.com/work/starbucks/
• Wikipedia, Starbucks – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starbucks
• Fox News, McDonald’s turquoise arches go viral but they were painted 20 years ago – https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/mcdonalds-turquoise-arches-go-viral-but-they-were-painted-20-years-ago

• Author
• Recent Posts

Bogdan Sandu

Bogdan Sandu is a seasoned designer who has been designing websites since 2008.

Renowned for his expertise in logo design and visual branding, Bogdan has developed a multitude of logos for various clients.

His skills extend to creating posters, vector illustrations, business cards, and brochures. Additionally, Bogdan's UI kits were featured on marketplaces like Visual Hierarchy and UI8.

He also wrote in the past years on sites like Design Your Way, WebDesignerDepot, WPDean, Designmodo, Speckyboy, Slider Revolution, and more.

Latest posts by Bogdan Sandu (see all)

• The Lovable Logo History, Colors, Font, And Meaning - 6 November 2026
• Headless WordPress: What Marketing Teams Gain and Lose - 6 November 2026
• PicCollage Logo: How Colour, Shape and Simplicity Express Creativity - 5 November 2026