BRANDING
Hot Topic® Rebrand
During Spring 2023, I pitched the rebrand for Hot Topic because their current logo does not match their brand identity. They call themselves "an American retail chain specializing in counterculture-related clothing and accessories, as well as licensed music," but their logo is much too safe, and no longer reflects that. Many loyal customers of Hot Topic reminisce on their old identity (before their rebrand in 2009), which featured their old red, deconstructed logo, which complemented the hellish gates that used to frame their storefronts.
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A few other designers and I aimed to pitch three solutions to this by recreating their logo to better fit their brand identity—one that uses edgy styles to influence their alternative minded brand.
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The first is The Outlaw, whose slogan is "Open the gates and unleash the rebel." This is inspired by the old Hot Topic gates, and even features a pair of eyes in the two parallel O's—urging one to keep their "Eyes on the Hot Topic."
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The second is The Creator, whose slogan is "Embrace the inner you," which urges the shopper to release their wonderful edgy side and recreate themselves at Hot Topic.
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The last is The Lover, whose slogan is "A romantic encounter between delicacy and its darkness"—very much Edward Scissorhands. It takes on the romantic sides of the alternative, goth culture by embracing new styles of whimsigoth fashion that are on the rise—connecting fairy-like, cosmic witch styles with dark and lovely goth fashion.