McDonald’s
Environment
Signage
Reinvigorating a legendary brand
While McDonald’s is one of the most recognized and admired brands in the world, it continues to face many challenges to its position as an industry leader.
Challenges
Refresh and update the McDonald’s restaurant experience and improve the overall customer experience
Create a clean, relevant, modern, inviting and fun environment targeting young adults while providing a wholesome setting appropriate for moms and kids
Actions
Defined experience objectives for the target customer segments to identify the best ways to bring the brand positioning and attributes to life
Utilized the firm’s proprietary Customer Experience MappingSM methodology to create a detailed design brief to specify how the McDonald’s brand attributes could be expressed at every point of the customer’s journey beginning at the building’s exterior, to the ordering area, dining area and also including the restaurant drive-thru
Collaborated with the McDonald's marketing group, its design and construction experts as well as selected franchisees to make sure the design approaches were practical as well impactful
Developed a flexible re-imaging concept that could be adjusted to the local context and appeal to restaurant operators and their communities
Designed exterior architectural, signage and environmental graphic elements that could be retrofitted to existing buildings without extensive demolition or interruption of restaurant operations
Refashioned the look of the old “double-mansard” roof design in a variety of material and color combinations
Transformed the drive-thru from a “back alley” ordering area to an inviting and highly communicative zone with lenticular graphics providing an animated and engaging travel path to brightly lit covered order stations
Zoned seating configurations in the dining areas to create more variety and choice for customers in how customers could use the environment
Employed a variety of décor concepts to provide options for local adaptations
Devised, prototyped and refined new approaches to restaurant lighting, menu boards, artwork and graphics