A contemporary, fast-food brand taking lab-grown meat and creating gourmet burgers that would tempt the most dedicated meat-eater. Yes, it’s environmental, yes, it’s ethical, but this brand wants to position its urban vibe and premium taste to the forefront, enabling it to compete with any traditional meat-based outlet. Hipster yet accessible, fast but gourmet, on trend and here to stay.

To create a name for the brand we considered words that relate to indulgent, flavoursome ‘treat’ food as well as words that could represent the scientific production process (cell culture). Pairing ‘Dirty’ and ‘Helix’ not only captures both of these elements, it sets a confident, urban and playful tone, which are core characteristics of the brand.

Once we created the name, our challenge was to develop a visual identity for Dirty Helix, that would appeal to an urban crowd who like to indulge in hipster junk food. The brand needed to look bold, confident and full of personality, with subtle reflections of its lab-grown process and ethical standpoint.       

Phase 1
As with any brand creation project, we started by developing a range of logo concepts and narrowing down to the three that most captured the essence of the brand.

We then developed the chosen three, trialling them across a range of applications and colour palettes to test their impact and versatility.

Logo 1 uses the double helix symbol as the basis for a mark that incorporates links to both science and meat. Suggesting a cow within the mark gives character and balances the logo away from a purely scientific feel. It captures the lab-based process that is core to the brand while also being open to interpretation to reflect the subject matter and provide a talking point.

Logo 2 takes a playful approach through the mark and the typography. What could be seen as sterile and unappealing is intended to be fun and enticing with the exaggerated tongue reflecting taste, desire and satisfaction. It has character and a cheekiness to contrast the scientific process behind the brand, providing a human aspect that audiences can align with.

Logo 3 taps into the on-trend retro look and feel being used by some well-established fast-food brands. It’s a concept that experiments with being a fully type-based logo, with just a very subtle nod to the scientific process by tying the helix symbol into the letter x. It offers a broad colour palette to provide flexibility that can set a different tone across a variety of applications.    

To complete the final part of phase 1, we developed a range of packaging designs to really stress test the three logos and their impact.  

Phase 2 coming soon.