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What plus signs in branding could say about Charlotte

By Katie Toussaint

When I first heard about WP Kitchen + Bar in Phillips Place, I thought there was a brand-new restaurant in town. In reality, there was a newly re-branded restaurant in town. The change was inspired by Wolfgang Puck Pizza Bar’s decision to get more flexible with their menu.

“With the new concept, guests can enjoy globally influenced cuisine in an approachable, family style format,” said Laura Houston, account coordinator for M-Squared Public Relations – Charlotte. “They drew inspiration for the concept from how Wolfgang entertains at home with family and friends.”

But why that plus sign?

It’s a branding thing. Wolfgang Puck nixed the “and” or ampersand options to get a more modern look that aligned with the company’s new corporate branding, which incorporates straight lines and slashes.

WP isn’t the only institution to brand or re-brand with the plus sign around here.

On the local scene, McColl Center for Visual Art rebranded a couple of years ago to what it is now: McColl Center for Art + Innovation. The museum is self-defined as an entity that “empowers artists to advance contemporary art and community through the creative process.”

When I see the brand, from the user experience, the plus sign indicates growth, a movement beyond the product that is already there, a movement into the future of art. It shows in McColl Center’s programming — they don’t just install exhibitions of pre-existing artwork. Rather, they bring in Artists-in-Residence to create art in studios on the premises. Right now we can be on the lookout for creations by the next wave of Artists-in-Residence like Mark Steven Greenfield, whose work often explores the process of images forming in the subconscious.

Back in 2009, the Afro-American Cultural and Service Center was rebranded as Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts+Culture. Again, as the user, the message I get is that the center celebrates African-American Arts, but also moves beyond its status as a museum to engage the community in cultural experiences. You can see that just from taking a look at their event calendar, from summer salsa-dancing classes to the upcoming September symposium featuring playwright/actor/professor Anna Deavere Smith, whose theater performances portray people she has interviewed during her presentation.

“The beauty of branding is (that it’s) your unique identifier and it helps to define your business for customers, partners and employees,” Shanahan said. “It is a way to differentiate. The most important facet is to be impactful and memorable.”

As far as impact is concerned, I’m a fan of the plus sign. It would be cool to see that popping up more in Charlotte business branding and re-branding, to perpetuate this impression that there’s a sense of newness here, that something is being added here, that something is growing here, that something is moving beyond what already exists.

Isn’t that how progress works?

Photo: Corey Inscoe

This story was originally published August 26, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "What plus signs in branding could say about Charlotte."

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