Forty Eight Point One celebrate Burger & Lobster’s wonderful juxtapositions with a fun makeover 

To mark their 10-year anniversary, Burger & Lobster were eager to return to their roots; to the unorthodox ethos and industry-disrupting offering that kicked off their beloved reputation in the first place. Now a global restaurant chain with locations in New York, Bangkok and Kuwait City (to name a few!), it was time to reignite the rebellious spark whilst staying true to their heritage. 

When London-based creative agency Forty Eight Point One were invited to evolve the brand, a question was raised: how can you surprise an audience when the experience itself is a household name? In response, the team devised and crafted an identity around the idea of ‘Grown Up Play,’ where the playful nostalgia of burgers blends with the decadent indulgence of lobsters. It’s fun, messy, visceral, and certainly, unpretentious. 

At the heart of the revamp is a tone of voice and type-led visual language that champions the power of words; punchy copy pairs with equally striking typography to communicate the restaurant’s beautiful juxtapositions. The Scotch Roman ‘lobster’ serif of 205TF’s Cardone unites with the bold ‘burger’ sans serif of Family Type’s Bossa. This pairing, according to Creative Director Paddy Carey, gave the team “the freedom to explore two contrasting personalities” associated with the two foods. “When thinking about language and copywriting,” he continues, “Cardone provides balance and a tone of witty elegance against the more fun, playful tone of Bossa.”

When developing the new identity, it was in the brief that it would need to work with the original wordmark; the one immovable element of the project due to the logistics of trademarking and global signage. “On balance,” Carey notes, “it didn’t feel like it would move the needle enough for them to justify spending on this asset in the same way spending on interiors, strategy and the broader brand ID would. There was also equity in the mark which still resonates with their audience in the territories they’re in.”

The rest of the brand elements continue to elevate the core concept further, from the bright and bold colour palette to photography that suspends belief; pearls poured over whole lobsters and burgers bound to vintage turntables. The studio also invited French illustrator Lauréne Boglio to create a set of illustrations that celebrate the brand’s playful spirit and unique menu – sprinkling some charm, wit and warmth into unexpected places. “We shared a few different styles of illustration in our initial concept workshop with the team at Burger & Lobster,” Carey recalls, “and the reaction to Lauréne’s work was unanimous – we all felt a smile or laugh at the dry humour and surreal nature in Lauréne’s work.” Initially, each illustration was briefed to feel witty and even a bit silly in tone: “from observations of odd behaviour to the habits while you eat, exploring our concepts of ‘Grown Up Play,’” the Creative Director adds. “We wanted to equally embrace the messy nature of the burger and the elegance associated with the lobster, mirroring our typeface choices.”

Forty Eight Point One

Burger & Lobster