Burger King

Burger King’s 2021 identity, designed by Jones Knowles Ritchie, revisits the “burger bun” framing device the brand used between 1969 and 1999. Two curved orange shapes, representing the top and bottom bun halves, sandwich the “Burger King” wordmark set in Flame Sans, a custom typeface with soft, rounded terminals that reference the organic forms of food. Burger King Orange (#FF8732) and Flame Brown (#502314) replace the cooler blue that dominated the previous identity, returning the palette to colours that evoke flame-grilled cooking.

Logo history

Burger King’s first logo in 1957 was a simple half-bun framing the brand name. The 1969 redesign introduced the bun concept that became the brand’s signature, wrapping two semicircular forms around a bold sans-serif wordmark. In 1999, the company added a blue crescent, tilted the bun at an angle, and introduced gradients and dimensional effects. JKR’s 2021 overhaul stripped away those additions, straightened the alignment, and rebuilt the mark with flat colour and a custom typeface, creating a retro-modern identity that references the brand’s most beloved era while feeling entirely current.

Design philosophy

Flame Sans carries the entire personality of the rebrand. Its rounded, slightly irregular letterforms suggest handmade quality and warmth, avoiding the mechanical precision of typical fast-food typography. The decision to eliminate blue from the palette was deliberate: Burger King’s brand promise centres on flame-grilling, and the warm spectrum of orange, brown, red, and green used across the system reinforces that association at every touchpoint. The bun frame’s simplicity ensures scalability from app icons to highway billboards, while its organic shape differentiates Burger King from competitors who rely on angular or geometric containers.

Brand identity

The bun logo anchors a comprehensive visual system that extends into packaging, uniforms, restaurant interiors, and digital platforms. Flame Sans appears across all brand communications, replacing the multiple typefaces that previously fragmented the brand’s visual voice. Packaging uses the warm colour palette with bold, playful photography that emphasizes food texture. Restaurant interiors have adopted the same earth-toned palette with exposed materials and softer lighting, aligning the physical experience with the visual identity’s shift away from plastic brightness.

Cultural impact

The 2021 rebrand was widely celebrated in the design community as an example of effective retro revival. By returning to a visual language that consumers associated with Burger King’s heyday, JKR demonstrated that looking backward can be a forward-thinking strategy when executed with modern design discipline. The identity’s warm, confident aesthetic also positioned Burger King against the minimalist trend in tech branding, embracing personality and texture at a moment when many brands were flattening toward anonymity.