NOTE: This is an archived version of the first incarnation of Brand New. All posts have been closed to comments. Please visit underconsideration.com/brandnew for the latest version. If you would like to see this specific post, simply delete _v1 from the URL.
I love me a good sandwich. Whether it’s from Subway, Quizno’s, Jimmy John’s (probably some of the best), or the unnamed deli down the corner I appreciate the art of a good, balanced sandwich. Togo’s however, was never on my lunch considerations. One, because it was always next to a Dunkin’ Donuts and/or Baskin Robbins — making perfect sense since they are all part of Dunkin’ Brands food chain — second, because I could never figure out how to pronounce the name (silly excuse, I know), and third, the logo always seemed like a cheap, fast foodish hole desperately trying to look healthy, in that Whole Foods logo kind of way. One day, in Chicago, with little time for lunch and a Togo’s on the opposite corner from my previous office it was the only choice. Boy, was I surprised: They make a good sandwich. Good amount of turkey, cheese, greens and just enough Mayo oozing from the sides. Clearly I wasn’t aware of their founding principles, “freshly prepared, generously portioned, made to order sandwiches.” Nor did I know that Togo’s was a California-bred sandwich shop — with their previous logo, my best bet would have been New Jersey-bred, no offense. With their new logo, Togo’s is claiming its sea-side origins and laid back attitude by embracing a surfing dude, ripping some waves on what I would think is a surfboard/salami sub and a quirkily-set wordmark. All of which I, well, hate. But at least I know what Togo’s is about now and what to expect. And that can’t be that bad. Like their sandwiches.
Thanks to Daniel Khamsing for the tip.
Jump to Most Recent Comment
Mark’s comment is:
Well,I don't have a lot to say about this logo.
it's different,thats a good thing,um it's hard to get the imagery at first,the logo as a whole doesn't stick out that much.
What really irritates me a bit though is how "sandwiches" is placed.
It's at an odd angle,the arcing shape it is in doesn't really serve a particular design function,and it's lettering doesn't match the uneven placement of the letters above ,making look like it doesn't meld with the rest of the logo.
BTW anyone notice that the name Togo's when it is separated in to two words reads "to go"?
thats a pretty clever name IMHO
On May.23.2007 at 11:05 AM
Ryan’s comment is:
Coincidentally I work near one of the first Togo's shops and eat there weekly. I noticed this new logo a while back and quite honestly it took me a while to figure out what it is. At first I thought it was some sort of eggplant-looking object that resided atop a sandwich. After a while I figured out that it's supposed to be a surfer riding a surfboard that resembles a sandwich.
Clever? Nah, not really. But at the very least it has colors that are evocative of food, unlike their previous logo which was just drab and uninteresting.
On May.23.2007 at 11:12 AM
felix’s comment is:
Dig it.
Reminds me of Von Glitchka's "Dig Ed" (via Landor).
Not fully on board (sorry) with the Togo type choice (Ariel rounded bold & extended %120?) but overall looks fun.
Like Arm, I love me a good logo (aka: ©Brandwhich).
On May.23.2007 at 11:14 AM
DC1974’s comment is:
Actually according to legend (when I lived in California, I was a regular at Togo's) they put out a sign that read "to go" at their first store in Palo Alto but not very well kerned, before they chose a name. Everyone started calling it Togo's ("toe-go" not "two-go") and the name stuck.
There old logo made it not seem so much like a chain though. It just look's like they did it in MS Word or something. And slapped it up.
But yeah, they make a good sandwich.
On May.23.2007 at 11:27 AM
Exigent’s comment is:
I actually find this logo absolutely repulsive. I have never partaken of a Togo sandwich and I must admit this will NOT draw me into their store.
The last thing I would ever want to possibly stick in my mouth for lunch would be a malformed & flat sandwich that has been stood on by an overstylized green gumby man.
Utter failure. Barf-o.
On May.23.2007 at 11:54 AM
Kim Siever’s comment is:
Not only does it resembles a surfer, it also resembles a sailboat.
I have to agree with Mark on "sandwiches" placement.
On May.23.2007 at 11:55 AM
rykodisc’s comment is:
the animation is a bit unfortunate.
On May.23.2007 at 12:07 PM
Splashman’s comment is:
Well, this logo is definitely a giant step up from the old, but geez, with a little extra effort it could have been soooo much better.
Nothing seems to fit together. The three elements (illustration, "Togo's" and "sandwiches") look like they were randomly placed.
What's their tagline? "Surfin' Salami"?
On May.23.2007 at 12:53 PM
eBrackett’s comment is:
I didn't see the surfer, I thought it was the top of a pear. The animation helps with reading it as a surfer, so if they run a lot of TV ads it may help. Even the sandwhich is sorta hard to read.
On May.23.2007 at 12:55 PM
Janis’s comment is:
Hm... The new logo is more fun, but it read as a tropical helicopter before I read the article.
On May.23.2007 at 01:02 PM
C-Lo’s comment is:
Good and Bad at the exact same time
Good: The little surfer guy is interesting (even if for just a split second). Decent color scheme (Fits the type of business), knows where the copyright logo goes (and the size). Will I expect a Silver Surfer tie in somewheres? Application of this logo will be easy.
Bad: Is this the first time the designer put type on a boolean line? Why is "sandwiches" not on a proper circle-like curve, but curved to look like it's on a hook? Forget to move the node handle to the left? Are we fishing for people who surf on subs? Then again in the original logo it isn't perfect either. The jarbeling of the letters makes it a tad harder to read. Probably from the T and the S not fitting the scheme of the other letters. But I do get it being a wave and the surfer is knocking the letters out of the way.
and the Ugly: Rykodisc pointed out the whole opening animation. What a disaster that was. That should be an easter egg at best, not your splash page. You know you can move more then one thing at once in animation right?
On May.23.2007 at 01:52 PM
John Colucci’s comment is:
I really like it, I had seen it somewhere before so this wasn't something too new to me, but it is really a ingenious identity, you feel healthy and fresh with it, the cartoon lettering is interesting though. I would be happier if they redid the Dunkin Donuts logo, and, opened up some of them out here in the SF Bay Area!!!!!
On May.23.2007 at 02:17 PM
k’s comment is:
i happen to live down the block from one of these dunkin donuts/baskin robbins/togo's joints, and i can honestly say that no matter what the logo, i'm not going to be able to eat a sandwich from that place.
the logo is definitely an improvement, that's for sure. but, will it help them sell more sandwiches? i'd rather go for the ice cream.
On May.23.2007 at 02:38 PM
disgruntled designer’s comment is:
at least the surfer has swooshy arms, i can breathe a sigh of relief. how would you refer to that typographical relationship? alignment? never!
On May.23.2007 at 06:42 PM
felix’s comment is:
Why does everyone keep complaining about redesigning the Dunkin' logo?
They're getting there.. slowly...
On May.23.2007 at 09:40 PM
Danny Tanner’s comment is:
Felix, the thing that has always bothered me about the dunkin' logo's evolution is that the first "coffee cup logo" the old dunkin' logo on the coffee cup. So...it was like a coffee cup from the past.
It was just really weird.
In the new design it has a different logo on the cup "DD" which is not their new logo or their old logo. Furthermore, I have never seen a "DD" logo actually on a coffee cup from dunkin'. What logo is on the cup?
I understand from a brand/markenting standpoint dunkin' is changing who they are and what they want to mean to people. They want to be mainly about coffee, and things that accompany coffee (bagels, muffins, donuts).
Why have any logo on the cup?
I have discussed this with people who have inquired to dunkin' and they have received brush off/unenlightening responses.
It would seem down the like it might make sense for dunkin' to simply shorten their name to " dunkin' ". Just drop the coffee cup, and drop the word donuts. Dunkin' implies coffee and food items that go with coffee.
Just an oppinion/thought.
BUT... THE TOGO LOGO "I like how that rhymes." If they are from cali, I guess it references their history... and the idea of "surfing in and surfing out.." A no hassle, easy sandwich. I'm not in love with this logo by any means... but it's kinda fun. Hang ten dude.
On May.23.2007 at 11:58 PM
Christian Palino’s comment is:
The revised logo colors are an improvement – however that is where the positive revisions end.
The new logo is incredibly confusing and sloppily put together. I am not familiar with TOGO's and would venture to say that I would have trouble determining who they are from seeing that logo. There is an individual surfing/skating on a colored board – to call that board a sandwich is an extremely difficult stretch. Then a distorted wordmark that tries extra hard to continue to play up this false sense of motion and "wave" feeling. And then… sandwiches. Uncomfortably placed with the novice feel of someone having rendered it with Microsoft Word.
If the logo is going to rely on a surfer to communicate its brand attributes, perhaps the word/descriptor "sandwiches" could have been played up a bit more for the sake of recognizing what togo's is.
The old logomark could have easily had its typography and colors updated and would have been a vast improvement over the confused, children's surf-school logo that we have now.
However I must ammend my first remark… They also used smart punctuation.
On May.24.2007 at 06:06 AM
R Berger’s comment is:
I guess all the sandwich-making money went into the logo re-design–
anyone else notice they went from "great sandwiches" to just plain "sandwiches"?
Jeff Fisher LogoMotives’s comment is:
I've been a Togo's customer/fan for over 30 years and think the new logo concept better fits the "personality" of the business. The colors are a huge improvement. Still, surfer dude is a little swoosh-o-licious for my liking. The quirky "togo's" type treatment works if you are familiar with the company and its history - but, oh my gawd, we forgot to include what we sell in our new identity...let's just slap "sandwiches" in there somewhere!
On May.24.2007 at 10:26 AM
Mark’s comment is:
I seriously think they should drop the "sandwiches" part of the logo.
It would be a whole lot better if the name was just "Togos"
Things will fit better,and it will look more organized. (that part looks like a frown also)
Let customer figure it out.
Of all things why do they show a ham grinder? (I'm assuming what that is)
Isn't that the blandest type of all? what about steak? or meatball? maybe something more Californian?
What type of grinders do they serve in California anyway???
If they're trying to be different why are they depicting a ham grinder? which is one of the most ordinary sandwiches of them all.
eh,maybe I'm too picky.
On May.24.2007 at 10:50 AM
felix’s comment is:
but, oh my gawd, (they) forgot to include "sandwiches" ...
jeffrey,
I'm fairly certain thats a whole wheat bun w/ two tomotoes... not a surf board.
On May.24.2007 at 12:36 PM
Bb’s comment is:
I find it interesting that they went from "great sandwiches" to "gumbywiches". I think they have a pretty good concept: Dude surfing the sandwich. But what's more important the dude or the sandwich. If it's lunch time and I'm hungry, the sandwich always wins.
The Logo needed some critical art direction in the process to straighten things out a bit (type) and make the sandwich part more obvious. Testing the logo out on a sample audience may have given them some clues on what to fix. Of course this could be the result of audience testing. Then I don't know what to say. Colors are nice.
On May.24.2007 at 02:47 PM
Corey Buckner’s comment is:
I hate it. Is that a sandwich or a surf board? Seriously, neither way works for me. A surfboard makes me think of some dirty-hair, dirty-fingered hippie picking his nose to put my greeneries on my water-soaked sandwich.
If it is supposed to be a sandwich who the heck wants a sandwich that some Cally guy has used as a surfboard. Sorry, no TOE-fu on my veggie sub please. I don't want a sandwich some guy has stepped on with BOTH feet.
Plus, ORANGE??? Nothing I get on my sandwich is orange. I don't want a sandwich that has been dropped in the Sunkist.
I hate this logo. Sad thing is that it is MILES better than its predecessor.
On May.24.2007 at 05:24 PM
Von Glitschka’s comment is:
I think the veggie sub surf boarder mark is well executed. I can't tell based on the image shown here if the points are pointy or actually nicely rounded off? Hopefully the later which always looks better for this style.
The type is lame though. Looks like they surfed through their pull down font menu and selected Helvetica rounded and called it good? Why not go completely custom with this? You know, actually hire a designer to design an original logotype treatment?
Baseball analogy rating: Infield single.
On May.24.2007 at 05:51 PM
Mark’s comment is:
hate it. Is that a sandwich or a surf board? Seriously, neither way works for me. A surfboard makes me think of some dirty-hair, dirty-fingered hippie picking his nose to put my greeneries on my water-soaked sandwich.
If it is supposed to be a sandwich who the heck wants a sandwich that some Cally guy has used as a surfboard. Sorry, no TOE-fu on my veggie sub please. I don't want a sandwich some guy has stepped on with BOTH feet.
Plus, ORANGE??? Nothing I get on my sandwich is orange. I don't want a sandwich that has been dropped in the Sunkist.
LMAO um,I don't think it's meant to be taken literally.
I don't think people have actually used subs as surfboards!
Plus who said they're stepping on the sandwich with their feet???
LOL that'd be pretty stupid if they did that.
Sunkist dipped sandwiches? hehe that part cracks me up.
I apologize for the two previous duplicated posts,I had problems with the italics (I hate it when this happens) >;(
On May.24.2007 at 10:25 PM
Jw’s comment is:
I actually like the new logo. Well, aside from the wacky text. I guess what really makes me like it is that I've hated the old logo for quite a while now, and watching it disappear from local windows will make me happy.
On May.24.2007 at 11:44 PM
Josh G’s comment is:
Normally, I would offer a more constructive critique of any work posted up here, but this is just corny. I don't really know much about Togo's, but unless the flagship store was started by surfers at an oceanfront location, this mark is the equivalent of using a hockey player figure taking a sandwich slapshot because Togo is from Canada.
On May.25.2007 at 09:34 AM
Mike S.’s comment is:
I like the overall idea, but I think that the execution could've been pushed a bit more. Especially with the type and sandwich. Which was mentioned by some others.
On May.25.2007 at 03:55 PM
Mark ’s comment is:
This logos really getting old already,also to note Doubletree recently redid their logo:
so far it only can be seen on their TV ads:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VrqAQJyPsc
and on this page.
http://www.doubletreepromo.com/
On May.26.2007 at 03:00 AM
zach’s comment is:
jersey rools!
this blog reads like something that was hatched by speakup, no offense.
On May.30.2007 at 03:30 PM
ElKid’s comment is:
I dig the color scheme and I dig the sandwich surfer. The word "togo's" is a little too crooked, and what happend to the "great" in the tagline? Apparently, togo's now makes just sandwiches, not great sandwiches.
On Feb.12.2008 at 05:39 AM
Comments in Brand New, V1.0 have been closed.
