Maruchan Branding Guide by Kristin Zhai

Branding Guide

Contents 2 OUR STORY 4 LOGO

22 PACKAGING

Redesign

Cup Container

Primary Logo

Bulk Box

Clearance Area

Individual Packet

Logo Mark Variations

Usage

30 ADVERTISING

Brand Colors

Instagram

Typography

Magazine

Metro Motion Graphic

16 STATIONERY

40 PROMOTIONAL

Business Card

Envelope

Ceramic Cup

Letterhead

Reusable Ramen Bowl

Assets

Canvas Tote Bag

our story Who are We? Maruchan is a food brand that provides instant Japanese noodle products trans-nationally. Maruchan’s parent company, Toyo Suisan, the fourth-largest international seafood corporation, started as a frozen fish distribution company. After looking to expand their horizons in the ramen industry, they had built ramen products with a foundation of flavor.

Our History Maruchan was founded in Japan in 1953 and sought to grow the company to reach international markets. In 1972, they took their first step in the United States with a Maruchan headquarter in Irvine, CA. At a yearly average, Maruchan sells 3.6 billion packages and is most popular in the United States and Mexico. Keeping Kazuo Mori’s founding ideals close to heart, the company places a high priority on the ingredients and flavor crafted in their products. As a company, they are committed to provide a convenient, high quality, and affordable noodle product as well as creating happy experiences for consumers. 3

Logo

REDESIGN

Existing Logo

Updated Logo

Logo Meaning Maruchan has a signature smiling face in the logo, along with its company name to complete it. Maru means round, this can apply to a round ball or a happy child’s face, while chan is an honorific suffix for young child or used in a form of endearment, it is not used for strangers. In this case, it implies Maruchan is a close friend, it builds trust and loyalty as a product to welcome in homes. 5

PRIMARY LOGO LOGO MARK

LOGO TYPE

Brand Personality Maruchan has a bubbly personality to brighten the pantry in homes and people’s hearts. To accomplish this, the warm colors encourage a strong welcoming feeling with soft forms in the logo mark and the logo type.

Logo Mark The signature smiling face is continued in the redesign. It is disconnected from the logo type to allow for more flexibility for a more responsive logo.

Logo Type The logo type is a custom, handmade type solely used for the logo. It acts like a sans serif, but has rounded edges to represent noodles and softness.

CLEARANCE AREA

x = distance between eyes

LOGO MARK VARIATIONS

These logo mark variations are used to identify a specific flavor for Maruchan products and can replace the primary logo mark solely for that purpose. From left to right, the flavors are: chicken, beef, shrimp and vegetable.

CORRECT USAGE: PRIMARY LOGO

Horizontal Logo in Color

Horizontal Logo in Black & White

This collection of logos utilizes the brand’s primary colors and is the most preferred usage of the logo.

This logo treatment is for when the logo is to be placed with a higher contrast from the background, especially when the color versions become lost with the background.

CORRECT USAGE: PRIMARY LOGO

Vertical Logo in Color

Vertical Logo in Black & White

This is a version where the logo mark is scaled larger to be prominent. The objective is to establish a stronger logo mark recognition.

Black and white logo options to create stronger contrasts.

CORRECT USAGE: SECONDARY LOGO

Logo mark variations are only used to indicate a product’s flavor. From top to bottom the flavors are: chicken, beef, shrimp, and vegetable.

INCORRECT USAGE

Changing the colors of the logo type and logo mark with unlisted colors.

Actions that transform the logo elements, such as rotating, changing the scale, or rearrangement.

Using a grayscale version of the secondary logo.

Outlining the logo.

Distorting or warping the logo.

Placing a logo on a background that does not give enough contrast to the logo and causing vibrance.

BRAND COLORS Primary Colors The primary colors for Maruchan are Pantone 115 (golden yellow) and Pantone 1675 (dark orange red). The usage of warm colors in the primary is to create an association of Maruchan with the feeling of happiness. This definition of happiness is very loose-ended as it could originate from sharing a meal with others, creating memories with Maruchan, or to reflect the warm feeling of finishing a tasty meal.

Secondary Colors The secondary colors for Maruchan are: Pantone 367 (pastel green), Pantone 317 (pastel blue), and Pantone 169 (pastel pink). These pastel tones are used to represent flavors that Maruchan offers. When grocery shopping, consumers could easily recognize flavors by their color when trying to make a quick purchase at the supermarket. The purpose of having secondary colors to represent the flavors assists consumers to differentiate Maruchan’s products while keeping it cohesive with the primary colors.

PANTONE 115 HEX ............................ #fcd722 CMYK........................ 2 12 94 0 RGB........................ 252 216 35

PANTONE 1675 HEX ........................... #ac4524 CMYK.................. 23 84 100 15 RGB.......................... 172 69 37

PANTONE 367 HEX ........................... #a1ce5e CMYK........................ 41 0 82 0 RGB........................ 161 206 94

PANTONE 317 HEX ........................... #ac4524 CMYK.................. 23 84 100 15 RGB.......................... 172 69 37

PANTONE 169 HEX ............................. #8b2ab CMYK........................ 0 36 24 0 RGB...................... 249 179 171

TYPOGRAPHY: DISPLAY TYPE The typeface for the logo type is custom and handwritten, which makes it solely accessible on the logo. Neonblitz serves as the primary display type with Loverine as its partner to give a playful contrast between the two type forms.

example a headline example of of a subheadline Neonblitz The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog

Loverine

The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog

TYPOGRAPHY: BODY TYPE Century Gothic Regular is used for the body type as a minimal typeface in comparison to the display type for optimal reading. The sans serif simplifies the form and its round counters allude to the overall roundness of the brand.

Aa Aa Aa Aa

Century Gothic Regular The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

Century Gothic Italic The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

Century Gothic Bold The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

Century Gothic Bold Italic The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.

stationery

Note: Only Pantone 115 and Pantone 1675 at 100% tint can be used for color. PANTONE 115 PANTONE 1675

BUSINESS CARD 3.5"

Corners: 0.15"

Address: 6/10 Century Gothic Regular Color: Black

0.33" 2"

Contact Information: 6/7 Century Gothic Regular Color: 100% Pantone 1675

0.16"

.145"

Front 1.104"

.33" margins on all sides

PANTONE 115 Employee Name: 14/17 Century Gothic Bold Color: 100% Pantone 1675 .07" .08"

.72"

Social Media Handles: 4/5 Century Gothic Bold Color: 100% Pantone 1675

Employee Title: 9/10 Century Gothic Regular Color: 100% Pantone 1675 Employee Email: 8/10 Century Gothic Regular Color: White

.04”

.33" margins on left and right

PANTONE 1675

Back 18

.52"

.42" margins top and bottom

ENVELOPE

PANTONE 1675

PANTONE 115 .65"

Envelope: 9/13 Century Gothic Regular Color: Black

.22" .25"

.5" margins on all sides

4.125"

9.5"

LETTERHEAD 1.37"

3.58" Address and Contact Information: 9/10 Century Gothic Regular Color: Black

.26" .41" .17"

.45" margins top and bottom .36" margins left and right

11"

PANTONE 115

2.23"

PANTONE 1675 8.5"

ASSETS The following are assets used to create the stationery set.

Logo Variations The horizontal and vertical logo composition with Maruchan’s primary colors are used in the stationery set. With the vertical format seen on business cards and the horizontal on the envelope and letterhead.

Illustrations The wave illustration and rice cake illustrations are often paired together in the stationery set. The wave illustration and rice cake illustrations are often paired together in the stationery set,as seen in the business card and letterhead.

Social Media Icons This icon set is used to visually identify the social media platforms Maruchan is active on. On the business card, the Maruchan’s social media handles are written out, whereas, for the letterhead, only the icons are shown to save space.

Packaging

CUP CONTAINER This is a mock up of Maruchan’s cup package design. In this redesign, the material of the cup packaging is considered in the change. To practice sustainability, the shift away from the current Styrofoam packaging and towards using an environmentally conscious material will promote a healthier brand image. The switch would consider the health of the consumers as well as the Earth. Some examples of a few alternatives from Styrofoam may include: PLA lined paper, aluminum, and Mushroom® packaging. Ideally, this design is created for a full color print on PLA lined paper material. While it is tailored for packaging that is a paper cup based, this design can be transferred to a cardboard label wrapped around a different cup material like the Mushroom® packaging.

BULK BOX This is a mock up of a bulk packaging design for Maruchan’s ramen products. Each package would include 8 packs and this would be the most environmentally friendly way to purchase Maruchan ramen. Since it is in bulk, less material is needed for packaging which would result in less waste. The packaging itself would be made out of a kraft paper box material with a cardboard banner around the box to label the flavor and product information.

INDIVIDUAL PACKET This is a mock up of an individual packaging design for Maruchan’s ramen products. This design is optimal for a paper based material that is waterproof to ensure a strong and safe food packaging. There are different colors and logo marks to represent each flavor. This way, frequent consumers can easily recognize and identify the flavor they are looking to purchase. Or, for a new consumer, the usage of different colors to signal the changes in flavors to choose from.

ADVERTISING

INSTAGRAM Maruchan’s social media posts should carry the playfulness of the brand. To accomplish this, the social media graphics could have a balanced mix of illustrative and photographic elements. Instagram, or social media posts in general could promote new products, current products, fun recipes, and other creative ways to market the brand.

MAGAZINE The following is a mock up of what a Maruchan magazine advertisement might be. Generally, there should be a hero image to easily captures the attention of a casual reader flipping through. The image should be paired with a short and simple caption to be read quickly when glancing at the page. Additionally, the brand’s color and logo should reflect in the magazine to enhance Maruchan’s visual identity.

METRO MOTION GRAPHIC The following is a mock up of a motion graphic advertisement to be displayed in the metro trains and stations. The objective of this advertisement is to appeal to the senses of smell and taste. To achieve this objective, simple graphics and movements can create enough dynamism while the simplicity allows the product to be in the spotlight. In the metro, advertisements are seen by passengers or people who are waiting. As a result, the motion graphic must rely on quick visuals instead of sound because of the busy and fast urban environment.

Video Playing in Mockup: https://vimeo.com/697944565 Video: https://vimeo.com/697935869

METRO MOTION GRAPHIC: STORYBOARD

The motion graphic starts with a textured teal background.

The Maruchan ramen cups slowly appear from top to bottom.

A fluid line appears from left to right to represent broth.

METRO MOTION GRAPHIC: STORYBOARD

Ingredients slowly fall down from the top into the “broth” and stop at its respective flavors.

This is where the ingredients stop.

The caption “Build on flavor” falls down from the top and the Maruchan logo fades into view.

Promotional

CERAMIC CUP The ceramic cup can be obtained during company events, gifted to new employees, or bought from stores by Maruchan fans. The cup is given a simple design with the vertical logo to give a stronger visual emphasis on the logo mark since it is a visual element. These cups are also a form of at-home marketing to promote the brand directly in the kitchen of people’s homes.

REUSABLE RAMEN BOWL The reusable ramen bowl is a set that consumers could purchase from the brand’s merchandise store or during company events. The set includes a ceramic bowl with a lid, a pair of wooden chopsticks, and a ceramic chopstick holder. This set is used to instantly cook ramen and to give consumers a environmentally friendly option to using the disposable cup to cook noodles. Optimally this bowl would be paired with the bulk purchase of ramen. Users would have to unpackage the ramen, place the instant ramen noodles in the bowl, add seasoning, pour hot water, put the cover on, let it set for a few minutes, and enjoy!

CANVAS TOTE BAG Along with the other promotional materials, the Maruchan tote bag will be available at events and purchasable by consumers online. The tote bag has a playful and illustrative design to be fashionable so it could be incorporated as an accessory into people’s outfits. From a functional point, the tote bag can be used as a reusable grocery bag or as a casual purse. If taken to groceries, it would reach the target audience of grocery shoppers directly.