Ben & Jerry's Packaging 1980

Ben & Jerry’s branding has played a significant role in the realms of ethical branding, postmodern typography, and anti-corporate visual identity. Since its founding in 1978, the brand has developed a distinctive visual style that challenges traditional corporate aesthetics, making it an example of how design can shape a brand’s personality and values.

One of their most recognizable graphic design contributions is its hand-drawn, playful typography. Unlike the sleek, geometric sans-serifs used by corporate brands of the time (McDonald’s and Coca-Cola), Ben & Jerry’s logo and packaging featured chunky, uneven, and whimsical letterforms. This aesthetic choice reflects the brand’s anti-corporate ethos, aligning with postmodernist design trends of the 1980s and 1990s, which favored eclectic, expressive, and non-conformist visual styles. The brand's visual identity helped establish the “ethical branding” movement. Companies used friendly, handmade visuals to emphasize social responsibility. This approach became a major trend in organic, eco-conscious, and independent food brands in the late 1990s and 2000s.

Ben & Jerry’s is one of the first major brands to integrate political activism into its visual identity, using graphic design as a tool for social change. Their posters, campaigns, and packaging often feature bold, protest-inspired typography, simple iconography, and infographic-style. Their branding aligns with postmodern graphic design principles, which reject rigid design systems in favor of playfulness and cultural pluralism. Their branding does not adhere to a single design tradition but rather mixes different styles (hand-drawn elements, bold colors, activist typography), creating an approachable, community-focused identity. The success of Ben & Jerry’s helped pave the way for “anti-brand” branding, where companies reject corporate aesthetics in favor of more human, informal, and community-driven visuals.