New York City-based creative studio High Tide has partnered with local bagel brand H&H Bagels to design a new identity for it as it prepares for national expansion.

Founded in 1972 on the Upper West Side, H&H Bagels has since grown to become a countrywide favourite, not least because the bagel is one of the city’s most enduring food staples. However, in today’s crowded marketplace, the original identity for the brand is endlessly co-opted and adapted by competitors seeking a heritage look and feel.

As such, the team at H&H Bagels called upon High Tide to refresh the brand visuals, retaining its history whilst establishing its pathway into the future. Upon receiving the brief, High Tide’s founder and creative director, Danny Miller, says the project was immediately personal.

“It brought up memories from my childhood of stopping by H&H on my way to Central Park, [and] we saw it as a huge responsibility to bring an iconic local institution to everyone in a way that shows what makes NY culture so special.”

To do so, High Tide set about giving the brand “a more ownable and premium feel”, and balancing this with “elements that add richness, texture and properly pay homage to its past.” Beginning with the logo, they created custom lettering for the iconic H&H Bagels seal, bringing more personality to the design but retaining its original essence. As a result, the updated logo can now flex to fit a range of orientations and configurations, creating a more adaptable visual system.

Other typefaces include a serif, sans serif and an elegant script, which all come together to create an “accessible but premium” aesthetic that can be applied to menu boards, graphics and the website. These typefaces are also complemented by simple yet inviting food photography that emphasises the quality ingredients used in making H&H Bagels.

Colour was another important consideration, with the brand being known for its classic navy and white palette. Aiming to respect this history, High Tide stuck closely to those original shades, but decided to slightly brighten the blue and include a “floury” off-white. These are then set against bolder hues of cobalt blue, avocado green, gold yellow, ketchup red and lox pink, nodding to typical bagel ingredients.

“Wherever someone experiences H&H, the brand should stand out – welcoming others to feel the excitement of eating a classic NYC bagel,” says Miller of the updated identity. “We’re happy that our work is helping H&H maintain the essence of a mom-pop brand but with a modern, scalable twist.”

hightidenyc.com