The business world seems like a hostile place. It's a closed community where, every so often, a new member is blessed with the gift of popularity. The restaurant industry, in particular, with hundreds of years of history, is a rather inflexible business. And when it comes to color in these types of establishments, it seems the winning bet is to stick to the established script.
When we think of burger restaurants, there's one clear dominant color: red. From a psycho-emotional perspective, we know that red evokes pure emotion, stimulates appetite, and provokes a certain sense of urgency. It's no coincidence that almost all fast-food chains feature this color as a clear protagonist in their corporate identities.
Photography @Rosana Pérez ( @honne__studio__/ )
From a historical perspective, the rise of burger joints began in the early 2000s, a time when the pin-up and retro aesthetics made a strong comeback. And if we combine retro with typical North American burger joints, we get the classic diners. In these places, the color red and the now-familiar checkered pattern stood out. During this first decade, these diners coexisted alongside the already well-known fast-food brands, where red always marked the place like a beacon.
The undisputed target of burger restaurants is always teenagers. And the generation that experienced their boom were millennials. The millennial aesthetic shifted over the years to much softer, Nordic-influenced colors, even materializing in the "Millennial Gray" trend, a clearly generational trend where grays dominate homes.
But among fast-food chains, the color red remained unchanged—except, perhaps, for a change in corporate identity at a certain hamburger restaurant that sought to link itself to a healthier, more natural lifestyle and distance itself from the classic "fast food" image. But if anyone had to represent the McDonald's logo, who would do it with the colors yellow and green?
Photography @Rosana Pérez ( @honne__studio__/ )
Many years later, the next generation would reach adolescence, and with it a new wave of burger joints vying for the spot. But being the favorite of Generation Z is a complicated task. Because, in this era, there are infinite stimuli. This is reflected in brands. How do you compete against millions of inputs? At least, you try with color.
The Generation Z trend seems to be a return to bright colors. Red is back in fashion, as is the checkered pattern. That's why all the new smash burger joints maintain some of this. Some, like Hype, veer toward pink but maintain the grid. Others, like Vicio, decide not to take risks and prove that you don't have to step out of the box to be, if not a favorite, at least one of them.
And why does almost no one take risks with color?
Because color is already an identity. Red already signifies a burger joint, and that's a secure connection that few dare to abandon. The red and white checkered pattern is reminiscent of the familiar, the cozy, the familiar. It's a symbol of the past, of nostalgia... even a standard tablecloth in any home.
Of course, there's no shortage of brands trying to break away from familiar territory to explore other ways to impact an audience whose attention span is growing. Sometimes, it's a resounding success, as is the case with Brando Ice Cream Parlor. From the outside, the establishment opts for a color more typical of a travel agency. This cobalt blue permeates every corner of the establishment, including the interior, interrupted only by a luminous yellow sphere that changes hue until it reaches orange at the end of the day. It's a risky move, far removed from the traditional colors associated with ice cream parlors (pastel pinks and blues), that works... at least at first glance. Brando's blue first stood out for its distinctiveness.
Brando Ice Cream, Madrid. Photo courtesy of Brando Ice Cream. Photograph @Imagen Subliminal (Miguel de Guzman).
So, is it better to renew oneself so as not to die?
It seems we're facing the end of smash burger joints. The trend shows that they may be replaced by ramen joints, or perhaps by Korean restaurants. Perhaps they're all opting, like Brando, to differentiate themselves; or perhaps the best way to stay relevant over time is precisely to not renew themselves so as not to die.
