Brigitte Ugarte
Graphic Design // Social Media // Event Photography // About Me
Hooters
As Hooters faces stagnation, I rebranded Hooters as a body-positive, quirky tourist trap restaurant chain reflecting Millenial and Gen Z humor.
Historically, Hooters, as a company, has never taken itself seriously. The restaurant opened its first location in Clearwater, Florida on April Fool's Day in 1983 by six friends with no restaurant experience. Since then, the company has poked fun at gender using innuendos and wordplay. Hooters positions its waitresses as “not like other waitresses”.
They are entertainers and team players. Each wears a recognizable white tank and orange shorts. They serve men of all ages (young and old). Not to mention, there’s wings too!
Moodboard & Visual Identity
In my mood board, I focused on post-modern Gen Z humor. Post-modernism, as a modern art movement, is self-referential. It questions reality and representation. For my rebrand, I wondered, “What if Hooters is just about owls? Not about the girls.” Many of us, we have memories of our fathers and older generations going to visit Hooters for “booze and the wings”. In my Hooters mood board, I included images from Finding Nemo and Frootloops, altered to be more realistic and literal. I also included cartoon illustration of the Hooters girls and comics to serve as texture and personality.
In the final identity system and moodboard, I continue to use the original Hooters colors to establish brand recognition. I also included handdrawn illustrations paired with the chalk and pencil textures to reflect the old logo. The owls are also shown to be athletic and friendly to acknowledge Hooter’s participation in sports and lifestyle outside the restaurant.
New Uniforms
When I began to reimagine the brand, I knew the main point of entry for customers would be the uniforms. Currently, the uniforms lack unisex options and waitresses are expected to wear tighter fitting clothing and makeup to maintain a sexualized brand image. For the new design, the colors still remain the same, but I created versatile options for waiters and waitresses to mix up their look in the restaurant. I added an optional white visor hat to enhance the athleisure aesthetic.