Come as you are
Ellis was one of the first players to enter the fast-food industry and master in serving hella good burgers. Fuck all conventions, fast food cán be premium. A philosophy that helped drive its dominance of the Belgian, French and Dutch markets.
Ten years later, the market has changed. With more diets than anyone can keep up with, just burgers was no longer going to cut it. So out with the old and in with the new. And so Ellis was reborn, offering food for meat-lovers, vegans and vegetarians alike. To underscore this more inclusive approach to fast food, a new visual identity broke ties with the old Ellis
The idea
A new menu, a new Ellis. Time for a 2021 version of “Who the fuck is Ellis”. With this new branding, we aimed to take that rock ‘n roll vibe to the next level. This resulted in a brand that’s roguish, brutally honest and (most importantly) inclusive. We found our inspiration in the old punk rock scene, where band posters played an important role. We see Ellis as the anarchist of the food industry: a pioneer questioning all conventions. That’s how they roll.
The logo
A new visual identity means a new logo. We needed a mark that made a statement. With a logo that feels like it’s been screen printed, we created an extra asset to go along with our newborn, punk-inspired visual identity.
Hungry yet?
Photography is key for the new Ellis. We provided exact guidelines, which were later followed by photographers at Spot On Visuals. We no longer wanted our food and subjects to look unrealistically perfect. Rather, we wanted people of all ages, shapes and sizes. Real people eating real food. Not posed, just digging in.
We also requested hard flash photography that would emphasize those imperfections even more, taken from the customer’s perspective - as though someone at the table shot the picture with a phone.
Tattoos
We designed a set of tattoos to break with Ellis’ old focus of ‘just burgers’. Both meat and veggies are included on the new menu. No boring green salads or beans in disguise, but veggies treated like veggies. These designs will be tattooed on leather and used in the restaurant interior.
Having established guidelines for the new visual identity, we arranged a handover with Android to take over the project’s rollout. Website, social media, menus and other print materials were all taken care of by this creative agency.
Interior design
For the interior we also found our inspiration in the old punk rock scene. Ellis became a place where colorful posters, tattooed benches and unpolished materials come together.
