Surreal is a UK-based high-protein, low-sugar breakfast cereal brand founded by Jac Chetland and Kit Gammell, launched in late 2021. The brand’s visual identity was created by London design studio Onwards, which handled naming, strategy, visual identity, verbal identity, content, UI design, art direction, and packaging for the cereal start-up. Onwards founder Joe Ryrie described the branding as “off-beat,” built around the guiding principle “Never stop playing,” rooted in the idea that a “playful mindset is a healthy mindset.” [1] [2]
Design and History
The Surreal wordmark uses the typeface Roc Grotesk and features a distinctive shift in perspective on the second “r.” According to Ryrie, this design choice allows the brand to display the wordmark horizontally or vertically while remaining legible. On the original packaging, the wordmark was displayed vertically, which Ryrie said aimed to engage “a more playful mindset at the start of your day.” [1]
Onwards also designed a mascot for Surreal: a smiling face with a cereal bowl for a mouth. Ryrie described the face as a secondary logo that can adapt to a variety of expressions. The packaging featured off-beat visuals tied to each flavour, such as a vintage photo of a cowboy riding a peanut for the peanut butter range. [1]
In late 2025, Surreal underwent a full identity and packaging transformation with Earthling Studio as it expanded beyond direct-to-consumer sales into mainstream grocery retail. The creative platform “Surreal’s Been Working Out” became the foundation for the refresh, dialling up the brand’s colour palette and typography. [3] [4]
As part of the redesign, Earthling moved the Surreal logo from the right-hand side of the pack to the left, because the previous layout was found to be confusing customers. The designers also redrew the logo with white letters in a black key-line. The colour palette was tweaked across the range to aid stand-out, and the Peanut Butter packs received a new orange and blue colour way. [5]
Surreal’s own marketing around the 2025 refresh leaned into self-deprecating humour. The brand launched an outdoor campaign with punchlines such as “Please don’t ask how much we spent on our ‘new’ logo,” “Thirty-seven drafts just to move the logo to the other side,” and “It took us 11 months to slightly change the colour.” The campaign was described as a parody of corporate rebranding announcements, using a minimalist aesthetic with a grey background, bold black typography, and generous white space. [6] [7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The double meaning within the name Surreal helps communicate the brand’s attitude, according to Ryrie. He noted that the name “looks really obvious, but as with any naming project, it takes a lot of grasping to get to the obvious answer.” The brand idea “Never stop playing” summarises Surreal’s belief that a playful mindset is a healthy mindset, giving direction for the brand world. [1] [2]
Typography and Design
The Surreal wordmark is set in Roc Grotesk, a typeface that Ryrie described as having a “modern and sophisticated” feel, balancing the bright colours typical of the cereal category with a more refined typographic voice. The distinctive treatment of the second “r” allows the wordmark to be rotated vertically without losing legibility, a feature used on the original packaging design. [1]
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