Ruby Tuesday steps out with an engaging new identity.

From the New at Pentagram blog comes news of an interesting redesign project. The team in their Austin, TX office has revamped the identity for casual dining chain Ruby Tuesday.

In their own words:

The redesign straddles the line between upscale sophistication and down-home friendliness and revolves around a new logotype that combines the words “Ruby” and “Tuesday.” “The idea of running the words ‘Ruby’ and ‘Tuesday’ together in the logotype came to me one day when I was sitting in the reception area of the company’s headquarters in Knoxville, Tennessee, waiting for a meeting” says Stout. “I overheard the operators answering the phones and they would routinely refer to the company as ‘RubyTuesday’ as if it was one word instead of a two word name.”

It’s both surprising and encouraging that a chain like Ruby Tuesday would entrust their identity to Pentagram, a firm usually associated (in my mind, at least) with a very forward-thinking voice. It was a bold, smart choice. This redesign sets Ruby Tuesday apart from the pack just enough, without losing sight of the need to appeal to a vast cross-section of American consumers. Bravo.