Opinion BY Armin

If this Chicken’s a Kickin’ don’t Come a Cluckin’

With the first location opened in 1997, The Kickin’ Chicken is a full service, full bar, full menu restaurant featuring chicken wings, tenders, wraps, sandwiches and burgers. (Hungry and thirsty yet?). The Kickin’ Chicken now has seven locations in North and South Carolina and is revving up their franchising business so they needed an overhaul to their identity to attract franchisers. The new look has been designed by Charleston, SC-based Fuzzco.

The old was pretty hilarious. I mean, a chicken, kicking Hobo? And Hobo is all, like, “don’t kick me”? I love it. Of course, it was bad. Not bad a for a one-locale small restaurant but with great franchising comes great responsibility and the old one would have had a hard time portraying a solid business model. In contrast, the new logo is really great. It reduces the chicken to just the head, not just saving significantly on space used but in creating something much more iconic and on par with franchise restaurants — its red crest rivals the pigtails of Wendy (who’s been on this site too much this week already). The rendering of the chicken is spot on. It’s energetic and concise. I also very much enjoy the type lock-up with the “N”s lining up on the right and the “K” and “C” on the left, leaving a little nook for the “The”, and major bonus points for the hanging apostrophe.

The rest of the identity comes very nicely together and what makes it work above all else is the color palette. It’s chicken-ey, it’s sophisticated, and it’s fun. Even the website — where usually good identities go to die — is perfectly aligned with the visual punch and tone of voice. Plus, an icon of a chicken leg with phone sticking out of it? Awesome. Entrepreneurs: Someone get a franchise here in Austin. Now.