In 1959, the chickens were removed from the brush lettering. Even after the introduction of the 1978 logo, the text of the 1959 logo continued to appear on KFC packaging until 1982, when it was replaced outright.
On March 24, 1978, KFC’s logo was totally overhauled for the first time. This drastic rebrand also saw the introduction of the mansard roof and the cubic tower on the center front of their restaurants, the first location featuring such opened in Zanesville, Ohio in March 1978. The Colonel Sanders head icon was also updated (see /Other), becoming a more abstract design.
A new, abbreviated logo for Kentucky Fried Chicken was introduced on February 12, 1991. This shortening was due to both the word "fried" no longer being a marketing benefit due to consumers trending toward health-conscious eating, and to emphasize its offerings beyond chicken. With this logo, the brown shingles of the restaurants' signature mansard roofs were recovered with red plastic strips. The Colonel Sanders head portrait from the 1978 logo was slightly streamlined, most noticeably in his glasses and hair. This logo still remains at very few locations, more commonly in Canada.
This rebrand was completed by Landor Associates, with an accompanying design manual drafted by Cincinnati firm Pavone Fite Fulwiler. The Colonel portrait of the last two decades was replaced with a posterized bust, with an inline added within the retained 1991 wordmark. As part of the rebrand, an updated building design eschewed the usual mansard roof, now featuring a flat roof with awnings directly above the windows and entrances. The tower was made thicker and more angular, the pyramid shape becoming shallower. Newer restaurants were constructed with the tower on a corner of the front end rather than in the middle. Remodeled restaurants usually kept the tower in their original middle position. This logo is still seen at some locations around the world, and was retained in the Philippines until 2007.
On May 1, 2006, the Colonel Sanders portrait was given a facelift, removing his wrinkles and replacing his tuxedo with an apron. New and remodeled restaurants with this logo were updated once again, only with awnings flatter than those from the previous logo's era, and only above the windows where the tower stands, as well as having hanging black platforms with the words "WELCOME" and "DRIVE THRU" above the front doors and pick-up window respectively. This logo was still used in China until 2021, and several restaurants, both domestically and worldwide, continue to display this era's signage.
2014–present[]
2014–2018 (Worldwide except China)[]
Designer:
Grand Army
Typography:
Unknown
Launched:
2014
The company started using this throwback logo in advertising starting in January 2014.
In 2016, the full new look was launched, while keeping some elements from the 2006 logo. Since 2017, the new design has been rolled out worldwide, with some countries using modified forms of it. Also, it is the first logo since the 1991 logo to use just the Colonel Sanders head icon, albeit modelled after the 2006 logo. China is the only country not to use this logo.
2014–present[]
A revised version of the 1959 wordmark was introduced as a secondary in 2014. In 2016, the 1965 Colonel Sanders portrait would be paired with it, and from 2019 this combination replaced the 2018 KFC logo on North American advertising and packaging. Internationally the two are still used together, however in North America this wordmark was paired with the 2018 Colonel portrait in 2023.
2018–present, 2020–present (China)[]
In late 2018, a new version of the logo was introduced across many countries. The illustration of Colonel Sanders' head was modified slightly, noticeably by making his right ear clearer to see. The wordmark was altered significantly, taking on a more slab-serif appearance. This logo resembles the KFC Bucket. Some countries still use previous designs, while others, such as the Philippines, introduced this in 2019, China in 2020, and the US in late 2023.
