The famous Golden Arches is getting a makeover, particularly in its packaging design.
Mcdonald’s, in partnership with creative agency Pearlfisher, set its sights on a fresh new look for the fast food company’s packaging. The revamped wrappers and containers, which feature fun and playful graphics, were meant to emphasize “the innate joy of the McDonald’s” and draw importance to the food inside each package.
Now, every piece of packaging will feature bold and simplistic graphics that reflect the menu item inside.
According to Matt Sia, creative director at Pearlfisher, the main task at hand was to identify what was particularly special about each menu item and how they could show this unique aspect of the item to others.
It was their play to purposefully create something recognizable across all borders, through vivid illustrations and colors. In these images, according to Pearlfisher, people can recognize and feel why they love the classic brand.
Colorful graphics on the packaging translate quite literally, with aquamarine waves being displayed on the Filet-O-Fish container, and a single line of melting cheese for the Cheeseburger container.
This new era of style that showcases vibrant graphics, minimal text, and modern simplicity is a stark difference from where the McDonald’s design was before, when the packaging relied solely on “loud” words.
Prior to this 2021 packaging overhaul, McDonald’s previously launched a redesign campaign back in 2015 to employ a “mobile billboard” for its brand. The design noticeably skips out on any graphics and instead uses large, stacked words to “speak” for itself.
Photo from Dezeen
It goes to show that, as the world rapidly achieves higher levels of connectedness, the more companies and brands have to adjust to ensure universally understood and approved products.
And for McDonald’s, that means showing customers from all walks of life what their food is really made of.
