JDawgs

JDawgs Brand Overhaul

Art Direction — Brand Identity — Packaging

A complete brand overhaul for a local icon.

Overview

A beloved hot dog institution with equity worth protecting and a look that had stopped keeping up. The overhaul rebuilt the brand from the mark out — identity, menus, merch, and environments — without losing an ounce of its charm. Full circle: I first touched this brand as a young designer at Super Top Secret.

The Thinking

J Dawgs had outgrown its shack, and the ambition was a clear step up from the McDonald’s-and-Wendy’s tier. The trap was overshooting into Wienerschnitzel territory — clean, franchised, forgettable. So the mark got cleaned up rather than replaced, and everything around it was built new.