When someone mentions the names of some of history's most famous artists, we can instantly picture their style. If we see a piece of artwork by one of these artists, most people can instantly identify that it's a Picasso, Van Gogh, or even a more modern Warhol.
Nowadays, the same cultural connection can be found in how we identify with the brands of the world's biggest companies and their logos and iconography. Show someone a Picasso, and they know it's a Picasso. Show someone the golden arches, and they know that's Mcdonalds.
We decided to see what would happen if we combined these to see what some of the world's most famous artists would make of the logos of some of today's biggest brands.
We took the logos of Mcdonalds, KFC, Burger King, and Starbucks and reimagined them as though they were created by Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh, and Andy Warhol.
Each artist has a distinct and recognisable style, and each of these fast food brands dominates our urban landscape across the globe. It's fun to imagine how these artists, known for pushing the boundaries of art, would have applied their unique styles to the everyday logos we see all around us.
Pablo Picasso
Picasso, who lived from 1881-1973, was one of the most influential artists of the last 200 years. He founded the cubist movement and worked in various mediums, from pencil, and paint to sculpture and ceramics.
Picasso’s Mcdonalds
Gone are the swooping arches of the Golden M we know so well, replaced by the cubist angles and almost human-like features of Picasso’s cubist period. There is something powerful and dominant about this representation of the ubiquitous fast food brand.
Picasso’s KFC
Picasso’s KFC evokes a more classical feel, almost ancient Greek in its representation of the Colonel. The sharp angles contrast the soft lines of the modern logo to give a wholly different feel to the brand.
Picasso’s Burger King
In Picasso’s Burger King, we return to the cubist aesthetic. In the cubist movement, Picasso reduced the natural curves of the world into stark geometric shapes. We think this makes for a striking and memorable way to represent the home of the Whopper.
Picasso’s Burger King
In Picasso’s Burger King, we return to the cubist aesthetic. In the cubist movement, Picasso reduced the natural curves of the world into stark geometric shapes. We think this makes for a striking and memorable way to represent the home of the Whopper.
Vincent Van Gogh
Van Gogh only gained recognition for his artistic genius after his death. In a life where he produced more than 2000 works, the majority of his oil paintings were created in the last two years of his life.
Many of his most famous paintings were produced late in his life, when his mental state was increasingly unstable.
Van Gogh’s Mcdonalds
The ethereal quality of Van Gogh’s Mcdonalds takes the brand to a whole new place. The starry night skies dominated by the golden arches evoke the idea that you can always access a Big Mac no matter what time of the day it is.
Van Gogh’s Starbucks
Reimagining the Starbucks logo by Van Gogh does not take the logo too far from its present look. It does, however, inject an air of mystery into such a familiar icon.
Van Gogh’s KFC
The clean lines and punchy style of the modern KFC logo are replaced in this Van Gogh version with a more human representation of Colonel Sanders.
Van Gogh’s Burger King
We love this new way of representing the Burger King logo. There is so much to like about its friendly and playful style.
Andy Warhol
One of the most iconic artists of the 1960s, Warhol is probably most famous for founding the Pop Art movement. He created his works using various media, including screenprinting and film, but his most famous work, the Campbells soup cans was created using silk screening.
Warhol is unique in our three chosen artists as the only one who worked with brands and their imagery.
Warhol’s Burger King
This reimagining of the Burger King logo invokes feelings of rebellion and the revolutionary figures of his times. We feel this aligns quite well with how Burger King markets itself today against its larger competitor, Mcdonalds.
Warhol’s KFC
Warhol's version of the KFC logo takes the Colonel and elevates him to an iconic figure. You could see this hanging alongside portraits of other celebrities of the era.
Warhol’s Mcdonalds
The Warhol version of the Mcdonalds logo takes the golden arches and simplifies them in classic Warhol pop art. We could imagine this repeated in different colours across billboards worldwide.
Warhol’s Starbucks
The interpretation of the figure from the Starbucks logo takes the logo from a simple icon to a portrait of a brand famous in nearly every mall across the globe. It somehow fits with the type of image and subject that Warhol would have gravitated towards during his career.
