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InspirationGraphic Design

Endless Studio create standout branding for Northern street food vendors Hoi Polloi

How do you lure in hungry people to your food stall? With eye-catching branding, of course. And this new work by Endless Studio for Hoi Polloi is a great example.

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Navy blue hoodie with Hoi Polloi Street Kitchen logo in cream on the back, featuring a smiley face symbol within the design

When it comes to food, the saying goes, ' The first bite is with the eye'. Similarly, when you encounter a contemporary street kitchen, it's the branding that often has to do the most work to grab your attention.

With this business being so super-competitive, it's a good place to look for inspired visual identities we can all learn from, whatever sector you're working in. And here's a prime example.

Hoi Polloi, meaning 'the masses' (or literally 'the many') in Greek, is a street kitchen calling at bars, food festivals, pop-ups and events across the north of England. They came to Leeds-based creative collective Endless Studio seeking a complete rebrand, one to stand out against the massive plethora of street vendors currently on the scene.

The brief

Collective members Aaron Whitaker and Joe Songhurst took up the challenge, and Aaron outlined the brief they received.

Hoi Polloi logo featuring a smiling egg character with white outline lettering on a blurred urban background
Hand holding a cream canvas tote bag featuring Hoi Polloi Street Kitchen branding with red and navy smiley face illustrations and text on a red background
Two paper boats holding street food skewers, dipping sauce and garnish, held by a person wearing a black shirt
Four vertical columns of stacked circular icons in red and navy blue with simple smiling faces and concentric circle patterns, representing Hoi Polloi's playful brand identity

"Hoi Polloi wanted the branding to reflect their namesake, bringing everyone together to have a great time under a colourful, energetic and friendly banner," he explains.

"Before the rebrand, the Hoi Polloi team had visited Asia for a food and visual research trip. They returned with a wealth of visual resources: the colourful, the cute, the excessive and the downright bizarre. And these were great in bringing together a big picture for us to delve into."

Sauce and splodges

Early in the development process, Aaron and Joe came up with the idea of creating characters out of sauce and food splodges.

"Many of the initial character drawings started with a bottle of sauce," he recalls. "And the rough edges, plus the stroke variation of those initial drawings, can still be seen in the final logos."

A hand holds a cream coloured Hoi Polloi menu loyalty card against a red background, featuring a smiley logo and ten circles to stamp for a free item promotion
Sesame seed bun burger topped with bacon, ground meat patty, caramelised onions and sauce, served on Hoi Polloi branded wrapper
Hand holding a clipboard displaying Hoi Polloi brunch menu with satay pork skewers, Korean fried chicken and vegan fried chicken options
Hoi Polloi branding pattern featuring rounded square shapes filled with illustrated smiling and expressive faces in cream, navy and coral on a terracotta background

After a few iterations of standalone logotypes with a range of mascots, they opted to combine the hand-drawn, splodgy lettering with friendly content and a smiley face blob.

The main lettering is inspired by hand-drawn signage found all over the world and is paired with a clear, bold and modern type.

It's a simple idea, but the doodle-like style of the characters is quite distinct and marks the brand out from a multitude of rivals. All in all, you won't mistake Hoi Polloi's branding for any other's, and that helps to form an instant emotional connection in the mind of customers, ready for reactivation next time they're feeling peckish and passing by.

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