In 1978, Milton Glaser was hired to redefine the supermarket as we know it. Glaser, an American graphic designer, was already world-renowned for his work — familiar to us are his designs for the #ILoveNewYork logo, AMC’s #MadMen animations, and iconic logos for DC Comics, New York Magazine and Brooklyn Brewery.

The late designer’s legacy includes a $500 million redesign of Grand Union. While the total redesign of the supermarket experience did not last forever, his innovations certainly did! At a time when the term “user experience” didn’t exist, Grand Union’s rebranding made it familiar — a complete overhaul of how the average customer wanted to shop. Glaser’s concept “was to open up and use the space generously,” while “presenting food in a different, more engaging way.”

Because Grand Union is already a recognized, well-known, and established brand, completely overhauling the logo would do a disservice to the great Milton Glaser’s work. To properly pay tribute to his design, we elected to modernize the logo, while retaining its recognizable look.

The color palette is kept traditional with a pop of color in the familiar red dot. The green is darkened to almost black reminiscent of vintage style. We used a slightly thinner typeface than the original, allowing more whitespace around the letterforms to update the overall design aesthetic. We also chose to allow whitespace around the dot to draw the eye into that familiar component of the logo. 

Pastiche created brand variations across multiple mediums, so that the stores could completely rebrand themselves before opening under the new moniker. A comprehensive Brand Guide was also created so that everyone from the store clerk to upper management could continue to ensure everyone uses the brand elements consistently. Brand guidelines provide information and tools, and set the standards for using brand names, logos, typefaces and other design elements across a variety of communications.