McDonald's coffee chain gets a (very) subtle makeover

McCafe branding
(Image credit: McDonald's)

To celebrate 10 years of serving coffee, McCafé US has given its branding a refresh. The coffee chain, which is owned by McDonald's, is set to get a bright new identity this month, and it's one of the subtlest logo changes we've ever seen.

This is probably a wise move on McCafé's part. In our guide to logo design we look at how it's important to tweak and refine a logo's typography to add personality, and that's exactly what McCafé has done.

The subtle changes see the wordmark's lettering (above) ever so slightly rounded out. Meanwhile the removal of the underline stroke creates a bold and minimalist brand identity that's more in line with the rest of McDonald's products and promotional material, such as its recent set of French fry-themed billboard ads.

See how it compares to the old McCafé logo, below.

Old McCafe logo

The previous McCafé logo made its debut in 2006 (Image credit: Logopedia)

Other changes to the McCafé brand include the introduction of bright gold cups, which McDonald's modestly claims in a press release will "match our gold standard for quality coffee". The new look will also appear across pastry bags and other items of packaging. Let's just hope it doesn't lead to a viral gaffe like McDonald's accidentally smutty cups.

Topping off the rebrand is the tagline 'good is brewing', which is inspired by the concept that "good is always brewing with McCafé because good people deserve good coffee." Seems like McCafé wants to be associated with "good".

If you're already a fan of McCafé, rest assured that the taste of its coffee will remain the same. And for extra peace of mind, all of its hot beverage cups will remain FSC-Certified.

McCafe rebrand

The new branding will start rolling this month (Image credit: McDonald's)

"Over the years, we’ve been focused on elevating the McCafé experience – from adding more choices, evolving the in-restaurant experience and broadening accessibility to this important brand," said McDonald's Vice President of Menu Innovation, Linda VanGosen.

"This latest update is a natural evolution of the steps we’ve taken to modernise the brand experience and deliver growth. We remain excited about coffee, and will continue to prioritise making McCafé a go-to coffee destination for customers."

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Dom Carter

Dom Carter is a freelance writer who specialises in art and design. Formerly a staff writer for Creative Bloq, his work has also appeared on Creative Boom and in the pages of ImagineFX, Computer Arts, 3D World, and .net. He has been a D&AD New Blood judge, and has a particular interest in picture books.