- I like it! It looks like a funny mustache!
Ivarâs Seafood Restaurants Move to Modern, Splashy New Logo
Ivarâs Rides Minimalist Wave with New Identity Look
SEATTLE â April 1, 2011 â After successfully marking what would have been founder Ivar Haglundâs 106th birthday last week, Ivarâs Seafood Restaurants set its sights on the future today as it unveiled a modern new logo created to better capture the Millenial essence. Notably, the recognizable cursive âIvarâsâ has been dropped from the companyâs identity, leaving behind a clean blue wave simply complemented by the number â1938â to denote Ivarâs founding year.
âIvarâs key management deliberated over this change for quite some time, but in the end, we felt a fresh logo will help evolve Ivarâs to a point that feels more suitable and approachable for todayâs diner,â commented Kirsten Wlaschin, head of Marketing for the regional chain. âWe must embrace change and be fluid. The wave is symbolic of our ability to do so and adapt as a brand throughout the last 73-years, while still expressing our love of fresh Northwest seafood. It evolves us forward, yet stays true to our maritime roots and our founder Ivar Haglundâs entrepreneurial vision and spirit, which is still part of our culture today.â
The new Ivarâs logo will be rolling out to all Ivarâs full service restaurants (Ivar's Acres of Clams, Ivar's Salmon House and Ivar's Mukilteo Landing), Ivarâs Seafood Bars and stadium locations in the coming months. The logo will also be prominently displayed on the 8,765,432 takeaway cups of chowder served to guests annually, as well as integrated into all future marketing campaigns and collateral. In addition, the company will soon launch a line of apparel and lifestyle products marked with the refreshed logo, so fans can enjoy Ivarâs in all aspects of their life.
âIvarâs is taking a risk by dropping itâs synonymous cursive company name from their logo, but our extensive research showed people simply donât read as much as they used to, especially cursive, given peopleâs tendency to text and microblog â it was no longer relevant,â explained Seth Godfin, a world-renowned brand strategiest from Gotcha Creative & Branding whom Ivarâs commissioned to develop itâs new identity. âOnce we opted to drop the name, everything literally opened up and enabled us to create a new, clean design with ample negative space that gives each element room to breathe. Because Ivarâs is intrinsically linked to refreshing waterfront dining, it was very fitting. This new execution will resonate with the restaurantsâ existing clientele, while attracting new diners as well.â
To celebrate this milestone, Ivarâs has two large scale logo unveilings planned for the public. The first is based on public feedback in renaming Qwest Field to Ivarâs Chowder Bowl. Subsequently, a giant chowder cup adorned with the new logo will be raised to the fieldâs exterior in the coming month. The second will come this fall as a large scale Halloween corn maze replica, in which maze-goers will find their way out of the undulating âwavesâ of grain cut in the form of Ivarâs new look. Ivarâs infamous dancing clams will be on hand to greet fans. Complete event details will be released as the dates approach.
Consumers wishing to further explore and weigh in on Ivarâs new look are invited to participate in a poll and leave commentary on Ivarâs Facebook page: www.facebook.com/IvarsRestaurants. More information on Ivarâs can be found at Ivarâs new logo.