LogoLounge 5

“The type we chose lends itself to the format for the icon. The

name box has its simple straightforward design and is also a nice

complement to the Jack script. The script is more free-fl owing,

and the type below reigns that in a bit,” Duffy explains.

The outline of the box shape creates a proprietary mark for Jack in

the Box, one that can be repurposed in other ways—as a container

for graphics or other type, for instance. It is also repeated to create

large and small graphic patterns that will be used for packaging,

POS, signage, advertising, and corporate communications.

“The Jack in the Box restaurants offer a higher quality product and

a broader range of menu items—you can have what you want,”

says Duffy. “Everything about the restaurant needs to be of a

higher quality. This is a successful brand that needed revitaliza-

tion. The last thing you want to do is pull the rug out from under

the client’s loyal following. This identity is all about Jack and the

affi nity customers have for him.”

One of the more oddly

charming fast-food

spokes-characters to

emerge from the crowd of

kings, clowns, dogs, and

other undefined mam-

mals in the past decade is

Jack, the round-headed,

business-suited charac-

ter who fronts for Jack in

the Box restaurants.

Created in 1995 by Chiat/Day/Secret Weapon, Jack has become

the very visible “head” of the 2,100-plus chain of stores, which

are located primarily in the western United States (the fi rst of

which opened in 1951). His incongruous head and attire, com-

bined with his take-charge attitude, is quirky and forceful. He is

large (-headed) and in charge. He has the customer’s best inter-

ests in mind always.

“Jack has become the personality of the chain—it’s all Jack,” says

Joe Duffy, principal of Duffy & Partners, the Minneapolis-based

design fi rm who was invited to create a new brand identity that

matched Jack in verve and quirk. “He watches over everything and

makes sure the customer gets what he wants. Customers have

developed a real thing for Jack.”

At the time Duffy’s team began work on the project, the chain’s

existing identity was somewhat spiritless. The logo was composed

of fat, tubular, all caps letters, some of which were conjoined in

rather awkward ways. The new identity needed to have the same

warmth as Jack—in other words, more human and humorous. The

client asked that the brand’s original red color be retained, but

everything else could be changed.

The Duffy team’s solution wrapped the word “Jack” around a

3-D-like box, stressing the brand’s key word. Set in a customized

script, in uppercase and lowercase, the name almost looks like a

signature—certainly appropriate for a brand that is based entirely

on an actual character. The logo is essentially his signature and

stamp of approval.

Jack in the Box

Identity Design

Duffy & Partners, Minneapolis, Minnesota

151

The new Jack in the Box logo, designed by Duffy & Partners, was

created to be the signature of the now iconic “head” of the chain,

Jack. In addition, the box shape that contains the signature is end-

lessly repurposable, as shown here in new icons and patterning.

TEXT

Black

(Provision RP) Logo Lounge 5

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