February 3, 2020

Zero Waste Rebranding

CloverDTX (Downtown Crossing) with new "blade" sign installed. Allowing new logo rollout to take place over time allows us to avoid waste typically involved with re-branding

We’re in the process of refreshing the branding at Clover. But you may not have noticed. And that’s by design. I’m trying to do this logo refresh in a zero-waste approach. Typically when companies decide to change their branding they tear up signs, throw away packaging, throw away menus, etc. It’s really wasteful. I got to thinking: can we do this re-fresh without any waste?

Last year we revisited our logo design. We hired Perky Brothers. They’d done the branding for Little Wolf. This type of work is called “brand identity” or “identity” work in the industry and extends from design of the logo itself to color and other design systems. We love Little Wolf’s packaging and website. They were happy to introduce us to Jeff at Perky and we got started in earnest about a year ago.

I was really fixed on a few things I saw as issues with our current logo:

  • It looks terrible/ illegible at small scale —> becoming a big deal for us
  • We never had an iconic representation for Clover. We needed this for some square applications of our logo, including the button for our new Clover App that customers use to order food from our restaurants
  • No “Food Lab.” We used “food lab” in the early days. Then ditched that and went with just “Clover.” But after a few years we found that customers still called us (and searched for us online as “Clover Food Lab” so we brought that back. But it wasn’t reflected in the logo
  • I was ready for something fresh

Perky did really amazing work. I love working with them. And I’m hesitant to say that here because I’m hoping Jeff doesn’t become too busy for Clover as you all rush their way for all of your branding and design needs. But Jeff really is brilliant and his team has been amazing.

We decided to stay focused on an incremental design. One of the benefits here is that we can allow the old and new logo to co-exist. Why does that matter? Because now we can make this change without creating any waste. You will see over coming months that new signs include the new logo. The website and app are about to be updated. Our packaging with transition to the new logo/ design. It will be incremental and spread over time, and zero waste.

Old logo:

Old Clover Logo

New logo:

New logo lockup
New logo "flower" only
New logo words in line
New Logo words stacked

Recent Posts

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October 26, 2023
If you stop by tomorrow (Friday 10/27) around 11am, you might be treated to a bit of Clover history in the form of a carrot cupcake with buttercream frosting. One per paying customer, while they last! And they may not last long : )
October 26, 2023
A bunch of you have been asking, and yes, we are doing a Thanksgiving Box menu again this year, with all the favorites from years past – Hubbard Squash glazed with maple-Sriracha butter, mashed potatoes, gravy, Ayr’s dad’s walnut-mushroom patè, stuffing – there’s even a limited run of Petsi pies. Free delivery to your door if you’re within 30 miles of us. Click here to reserve yours.
October 22, 2023
I’ve recently asked somebody who believes in Clover as much as I do to step into the CEO role. Julia Wrin Piper has been Clover’s COO for the past 18 months and will take over running the company day-to-day. I’ll be shifting my efforts to provide support for Julia and the team, work on growth opportunities, and pursue partnerships that will amplify Clover’s mission. I’ll remain a member of the Board of Directors and active as an advisor and mentor. Clover is facing a potent mix of opportunity and challenge right now and I know Julia is exactly the right person to lead the team through these twists and turns.
October 18, 2023
On 10/29 Clover will turn 15 years old. It’s been 15 years since we first pulled up a tiny white food truck to the MIT campus in hopes of testing a menu that could make a dent in global warming. Since then we’ve supported so many local farmers; had tons of adventures on board trucks and restaurants; and met tons of wonderful customers. And most of all we’ve made food. Lots and lots of food. In honor of our 15th birthday, we sent out a survey asking you about your favorite LONG-LOST MENU ITEMS. We’ve picked the top results and we’re going to bring them back for one day only – in the form of a Birthday Meal Box!
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We’ll be pulling up the truck to two events this weekend (a Cornhole Tournament in Lincoln and an Oktoberfest event in Southie), both of which are open to the public! BTW, this photo is of the POV of a beautiful chickpea fritter sandwich, made by Ariel from CloverHSQ. I took it on board the truck, when I got to work one of the events a few weeks ago (a movie night in Southie).