Four Square

Fresh vegetables and steak on a wooden cutting board with a 4 Square logo.

New Zealand’s iconic supermarket.
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Brand design for Four Square

Four Square have been faithfully serving their communities for almost a century but needed a new visual identity to equip them as they step into a new phase as a business. This is expressed with the new brand positioning; ‘What’ll it be today?’ This acknowledges that life sometimes means you’ve run out of tomato sauce, or that packet of yeast at the back of the cupboard has expired. Four Square will be there to help — and with a smile.

Note: This project was completed while Josh was employed by FCB, and they have graciously allowed its publication here.

A colorful advertisement for Rocket Lunch in 3, 2, 1... at 4 Square, featuring a chopping board with greens, sliced almonds, and roasted peppers, with text prompting "What's'll it be today?"
A dining table set with salad, grilled meat, and a plate with greens and cherry tomatoes, with a hand placing greens on the plate, and a sticker that says 'What'll it be today?!'

The logo itself was finessed in a way that likely no one will notice the difference at all. It was actually a substantial shift, bringing ‘FOUR’ inside the box, alongside some careful kerning, to create a compact mark that would work across all comms.

A dedicated lock-up was also created to incorporate Charlie, and a system implemented for consistent store logos.

The new logo for Four Square, designed in 2021. It has a green background and yellow border featuring a large red number 4 with yellow outline, and the word 'SQUARE' written below in white text.

Primary
Stacked
Logo

Lcok-up of cartoon character Mr. Four Square (Charlie) with the Four Square logo, a green background and yellow border featuring a large red number 4 with yellow outline, and the word 'SQUARE' written below in white text.

Lock-Up

Four Square logo for "Mangonui".

Store
Specific
Logo

Person in a red jacket carrying a white tote bag with a yellow and red logo and cartoon face, against a yellow background.
A promotional poster for a summer barbecue event featuring food items such as grilled corn and skewered meat and vegetables. The poster includes text that says, "Summer Kai on the Fly," a "What'll it be today?" sticker, and a Four Square logo

The new identity needed to match that bright and positive sentiment, and cut through in a crowded marketing environment. This was anchored by a new brand typeface, which was developed to convey the brand sentiment in the most effective way, and enhancing the witty tone of voice.

Assorted fresh vegetables including arugula and roasted peppers on a wooden surface with the words 'FS Fresh' overlayed.
Green background with text describing FS Fresh font as a compact rounded display serif inspired by Cooper & Windsor, designed to be practical and personable.
Green background with white alphabet letters, numbers, and symbols in bold font.
Pink background with light pink abstract shapes and bold green text that reads 'Sofffffft organic forms'.
Graphic design of the word 'fresh' with annotations about typography and design features on a green background.

A second typeface, a playful reworking of Grotesque No.9, is utilised in secondary copy, and the stickers that hero the positioning line. 

A partially eaten meat pie on a paper plate with a flaky crust, a dollop of ketchup, and crumbs, along with another meat pie on a paper plate, and a small bottle of ketchup on a blue table with the text "FS Condensed" in red overlaying the image.
Red badge with pink text reading "What'll I Be Today?" and a smiling yellow cartoon face with brown hair.
Alphabet and numbers displayed on a red background in bold, uppercase and lowercase white font.
Back of a person wearing a white shirt decorated with multiple colorful stickers that say 'What’ll it be today?'

The photographic direction became a celebration of the ordinary, finding the magic mid-meal with hungry fingers plucking a tomato off a plate, or in the aftermath of a panicked baking session. Reflective of everyday life and establishing a distinctive, human-centric approach that sits in refreshing contrast to the generic images of their competitors.

Our images are sorted into three distinctive buckets, that ensure diversity in our communications, and demonstrate the breadth of our brand promise.

Messy kitchen countertop with cracked eggs, eggshells, chocolate chips, a whisk, a mixing bowl with batter, a small pitcher of milk, a bag of white sugar, and scattered ingredients.

Still Life

Roasted chicken on a white paper plate with a fork, two sandwiches with shredded chicken, pickles, and mustard on a separate white plate, shredded carrots and parsley, and a bag of vegetable slaw on a bright yellow background.

Studio

Woman with curly black hair in a blue dress holding a large bowl of salad and eating noodles with yellow chopsticks. Another person is in the background, wearing a blue shirt.

Enjoyment

A breakfast scene on a blue background with a plate containing a croissant, croissant crumbs, and some butter, a butter knife, a small bowl of red jam or jelly, a mug with lipstick marks, and a coffee pot in the background.
Person preparing a salad with fresh greens and cherry tomatoes on a white plate, with other dishes and condiments on a wooden table.
A partially eaten cheeseburger slider with ketchup on a white, ridged plate on a blue surface, with crumbs around the plate.
A woman with dark hair and earrings tasting fruit yogurt from a bowl with a spoon in a kitchen.
Hands reaching for various snacks on a wooden table, including popcorn, chocolates, chips, pretzels, gummy candies, and a bowl of whipped cream.
A person with long black hair, wearing a white shirt, is eating a hot dog with ketchup and mustard outside.
Fresh strawberries and sliced strawberries on a white cutting board with a hand nearby on a yellow surface. Sliced kiwi and whole kiwis are also visible in the background, along with a red and white checkered napkin.
A series of promotional posters featuring people enjoying food with bright yellow text; posters include a girl eating snacks, grilled chicken, a woman eating peach slices, and a person preparing a salad, with colorful backgrounds and playful graphics.

The colour palette was strengthened, extending into a supporting palette that supported the primary tones, and gave use more tonal flex in our comms.

Rigorous guidelines help to ensure consistent application, as we use colour blocking and tone-on-tone almost religiously.

Image of the Four Square colours with labeled information, and their respective color codes.

Primary Palette

Secondary Palette

Color palette chart featuring color names, color codes, and RGB/CMYK values, including Bright Blue, Mid Blue, Navy, Bright Green, Dark Green, Sand, Blush, Orange, Bright Red, Black, and White.
A colorful infographic poster titled 'Brand Guidelines' for 4 Square, showing sections on typography, color, imagery, graphic assets, layout principles, application, and store branding, with images, charts, and text in bright colors.
A colorful collection of stickers with various designs and bright backgrounds, all featuring the phrase 'What'll it be today?' along with illustrations of thumbs up, pointing fingers, smiling faces, and a handshaking icon.
Back of a city bus with an advertisement for ice cream, showing a hand holding a large ice cream bar, and text that says, 'Bargain with your back seat bandits.' and 'What'll it be today?'
A Four Square poster featuring a woman with curly hair wearing a blue dress eating noodles from a bowl with chopsticks, standing in front of a gray wall.

The ensuing years have seen Four Square authentically connecting with Kiwis. Recently it launched a new store in Britomart, and celebrated its 100th anniversary with a popular release of a merch range, and a series of ‘brollabs’ with other iconic New Zealand brands.

A vinyl decal on a storefront with colorful signs and large letters spelling 'HELLO BRITOMART' on the glass door. Windows display signs like 'FRESH' and 'EASY.'
A vinyl decal on a storefront window with large red and pink letters overlaid with yellow text '(SOON)'. There are a series of stickers saying 'WHAT'LL IT BE TODAY?' with a thumbs-up symbol in the middle of each.
An announcement for a new leased space at 4 Square, featuring a tray of assorted baked goods including croissants, a Danish pastry, and a muffin, with promotional text and a cartoon mascot.
A colorful advertisement for BritoMart featuring a bowl of salad being poured with dressing. The text reads 'New Kid in the Brit' and 'BritoMart opens Sept 23'. It includes a cartoon character with a thumbs-up next to the 4 Square logo.
A motivational poster for Four Square anDedwood Deli at Britomart. It features a large sandwich with bread, meats, and toppings on a wooden board. The text says, 'Forgot your lunch? Lucky you.' and includes a sticker that says, 'What'll it be today?'
Collection of five food items on a green plaid cloth, including a packet of special edition gingerbread cookies, a tube of orange-flavored candy, a bottle of tomato ketchup, a can of Behemoth Hazy Century beer, and a packet of fairy bread.
Four Square playing cards with colorful heart patterns, dice, and green mini boxes labeled 'Good Luck' on a pink surface with a pink wall background.
A beige Four Square tote bag with a colorful grid design and the number 4 in green, held by a person with yellow-painted nails against a yellow background.
Collection of vintage style Four Square caps with yellow brims and red-faced cartoon mascot, some with green brims, on pink background.
A hand with yellow nail polish opening a colorful Four Square cookie tin with a cartoon face, revealing chocolate chip cookies inside, against a yellow background.
Woman with a colorful tote bag shopping for groceries outside of a Four Square store, wearing an orange jacket and a white cap with a clown face, smiling and holding a reusable water bottle.
A colorful birthday party scene with a cookie packet featuring characters from a cartoon, cookies crumbs, party blowers, and confetti on a pink surface.

Likely Suspects:
Josh O’Neill (at FCB)

Collaborators:
Photography by Victoria Baldwin & Michael Braid, Strategy, Project management & Creative Direction by the wider FCB New Zealand team.