If you’re Canadian, you’re likely familiar with the Panago pizza logo. It’s red and green, and has the words ‘Panago’ in a narrow oval. Panago is a huge franchise in Canada that’s been around for well over thirty years though they have only ever done one major rebrand.
The other day I ordered pizza from them because family was visiting and pizza is a favorite amongst us. When the pizza showed up, I noticed the box looked very different from what I was used to. Panago had completely rebranded their look. The old logo was maybe a bit dated, but it was memorable and unique enough to function well for the brand. However, this new logo was something entirely generic and boring. Needless to say, I’m not a fan of the new Panago Pizza logo. So let’s break things down a bit.
Panago Pizza Logos
Panago Pizza is a pizza delivery company, known Canada-wide for convenient, cheesy, deliciousness. When they opened in 1986, they were originally called Panagopoulos, then rebranded to Panago in 2000. From what I can tell, they haven’t rebranded since then, so this new logo is only their second visual identity under the name Panago.
The new, clean, generic, purple logo is very different from their old one and it really doesn’t have the same feel. I realize that’s what they were likely going for, but I’m not sure it was the right direction to go in. So let’s compare the two versions of the Panago Pizza logo.
The 2000 Panago Pizza Logo
The 2000 logo wasn’t actually registered in the Canadian Trademarks Database until 2007, but from what I can tell it was being used since 2000.
To me, the 2000 red and green logo IS Panago. It’s shaped like a pizza on the angle you look at it when you open the box. It uses red for tomato sauce, and green for veggies. At least that’s what I see. The typeface treatment is slightly italicized to signify motion, and the GO part of the logo really seems to move with the direction of the oval underneath. The movement in this logo fits so well because they do pizza DELIVERY.
I do realize that by me being so familiar with the 2000 Panago Pizza logo, I am a bit biased to prefer it over the new one. Also, there’s the nostalgia of Panago pizza Friday’s at my high school. That just makes this drastically different rebrand approach especially harsh in my eyes.
The 2021 Panago Pizza Logo & Brand
The 2021 Panago Pizza logo has absolutely no character. Nothing about it says delicious, or delivery, or even food. It’s as generic as a logo can get. The typeface it uses is Conneqt Black and has minimal font modifications I can see, if any.
What’s interesting about the rebrand is that they’ve added messaging on their boxes where previously the logo was just repeated. The tagline used on their pizza boxes is ‘Go With Goodness’. The box also includes new messaging around the sides where it’s clear they are trying hard to promote a more wholesome, wellness based image.
“No artificial colours or flavours”
“Organic tomato sauce”
“100% Canadian Wheat”
“Meats Raised Right”
I think that part is great, and it makes sense to use the pizza boxes to further promote the Panago brand.
Now let’s judge the new Panago Pizza logo by the logo design checklist:
Brand Appropriateness
Right off the bat, I’m going to say the new logo doesn’t feel very appropriate. It feels too simple and much too corporate for a pizza company.
Simplification
It would be difficult to argue that the new logo isn’t simple. In fact, its extreme simplicity is where many of its problems lay.
Logo Faux Pas
The new Panago Pizza logo does not outright commit any logo faux pas, though its clean simplicity could potentially be considered a logo cliche because this style of logo is trendy but lacks any real substance.
Typography
This entire logo is typography with no additional elements, but thankfully, the typography itself is pretty flawless.
Memorability
This logo is not memorable, at all. There is absolutely nothing unique about it. Sorry Panago.
Versatility
The simplicity of the logo does make it quite versatile in most cases. The bold typeface it uses would be legible at a small size and there are no elements that couldn’t be scaled up properly or colour reversed.
The New Panago Pizza Logo – In Summary
To summarize, the new Panago Pizza logo, while simple, versatile, and typographically perfect, is neither appropriate for the brand, nor very memorable. I would love to know what agency did the rebrand and what their reasoning behind everything was.
Despite my dislike for the new Panago Pizza logo, it won’t affect me ordering from them in the future. The brand itself is pretty well cemented in my mind and as long as their pizzas still taste the same as they always have, I will continue to eat Panago. Though, if I were a first time customer and had to choose a pizza company to order from based entirely on their visual branding, I might opt for Domino’s or Pizza Hut instead.
What do you thing of the new Panago Pizza logo? Do you prefer the old 2000 one or the new 2021 version? Let me know in the comments below!
1 Comment
Richard N
This is a pretty good analysis. The only thing I really see missing from a branding perspective (which you kind of reference in the beginning, but don’t examine in detail) is color theory. I’m kind of surprised they went with such an unappetizing purple for their branding. The red in their previous logo made far more sense (which is why you see it in so many food company brands), but this purple only promises cold pizza after a 2-hour erudite lecture.