Branding for Film and Food: Design 2022 Winners

If something looks good to you, it has to be the branding. How things look goes a long way in drawing people’s interest, and these Design 2022 winners make a statement with polished yet fun work.

Rathaus is a film production company based in New York, Detroit, and Antigua and Barbuda with a focus on progressive films, branded content, and music videos. Beginning with a frat house with a rat problem that gave the company its name, Rathaus has developed a down-to-earth feel with a darkly comedic tone, and playfully embraces the name and the raw/refined aspects of film production. Founders and partners Madeleine Askwith, Alexandra Byer, Shabier Kirchner, and Kevin Steen pride themselves on a scrappy identity and resourceful work ethic, which they hope to put on full display in their new brand identity.

In a media landscape overloaded with clean-cut or flashy designs, this small film company takes a subtler branding approach thanks to the amazing work of Paolo Catalla’s design firm. His unique take on “Rathaus Branding” (above) took home 2022 Design gold, referencing the company’s humble roots with a design that will carry Rathaus far into the future. Catalla makes excellent use of typography and negative space with thick, bold text on top of desaturated color fields. Other elements of the brand reference aspects of the industry, including stylized photography reminiscent of old film and text in the shape of film strips. Catalla also creates a logo to suit Rathaus’ name while affectionately mocking the company’s history with a simple, monochrome graphic of a rat disappearing into its hole. Rathaus’ industry-defying new identity is sure to bring attention to their future work.

After 20 years, Burger King got a new design that matched their new goals to bring customers food that is more delicious and authentic than ever before! Design firm Jones Knowles Ritchie and their Executive Creative Director Lisa Smith created a silver-winning brand design, “Your Way, Way Better” (above) breathing new life into the fast food chain we all know and love.

With a focus on “craveability,” and a “taste-first” design, Jones Knowles Ritchie served up mouthwatering freshness in every touchpoint of the Burger King experience, from the macro photography and the custom typeface on the packaging to the new crew uniforms and digital experiences. The new brand has a playfully irreverent tone and hand-drawn illustrations, showing that having big flavor doesn’t have to be serious. They also draw inspiration from a few of Burger King’s classic logos, taking a nostalgic view into an updated design. The final result is simple, confident, and fun – a true reflection of BK’s core values: Mouthwatering, Big & Bold, Playfully Irreverent and Proudly True. The new branding campaign has had great results, with headlines in Fast Company, Forbes, Adweek, Ad Age and more, a 7.8% jump in stock prices, and a huge buzz on social media platforms, creating a cultural phenomenon!

To check out other past design winners, or to enter our current competition, visit graphis.com.