Michelin star chef Heston Blumenthal and Little Chef commissioned ARD to create a new flagship restaurant, to bring Little Chef into the 21st century. With just three months from commission to completion and a tight budget, ARD embraced the challenge of overhauling the Little Chef brand, including everything from interior design to graphics, uniform, signage and packaging.

We selected materials that inspire the senses while standing up to the punishing life of a roadside eatery. We chose tiles, for hygiene, durability and British sensibility; laminate and vinyl fabric for synthetic modernity, 1950s diner connotations, vibrant colours and ease of maintenance.

Many of Little Chef's customers pop in for the restrooms and pop out again without spending a penny. To engage them, we piped the sounds of a kitchen into the toilets and created interactive food-related sounds, plays and songs, such as Spike Milligan singing about jelly.

The new graphical identity introduced the stalwart red of Little Chef to a new gradient of colour, from orange to pink. Charlie, the much-loved mascot of Little Chef, lent an air of humour to the palette. The new brand evokes nostalgia for Britain's past while inspiring excitement for its future.