Howard Johnson by Wyndham is an American hotel and motel brand operated by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. The chain traces its roots to 1925, when founder Howard Deering Johnson began selling ice cream from stands around Boston, Massachusetts, later expanding into restaurants and, from 1954, motor lodges.[1] Today the brand operates under the Wyndham umbrella, with its official website hosted at wyndhamhotels.com/hojo.[2]
Design and History
The current Howard Johnson by Wyndham logo is a registered trademark that combines a rooftop emblem with a two-line wordmark. According to the official U.S. trademark registration, the mark consists of “a rooftop with a sunburst in the colors green, blue and white outlined in orange above the words ‘HOWARD JOHNSON’ which appear in blue, and which are underlined in orange, beneath appears the words ‘BY WYNDHAM’ in blue.”[3] The trademark registration, filed in February 2018 and registered in December 2018, claims blue, orange, green and white as features of the mark.[4]
The rooftop imagery carries a direct link to the brand’s architectural heritage. Howard Johnson’s motor lodges were known for their signature orange roofs, a feature that made properties instantly recognizable to travelers along American highways.[5] By the mid-1990s, as many of those physical orange roofs were being removed from properties, a company spokesperson noted that “if you look carefully,” a hint of an orange roof could be seen in the then-current corporate logo.[6]
In September 2013, Wyndham Hotel Group unveiled early details and designs for a multi-year “Reinvigoration” project for the Howard Johnson brand at its Global Conference in Las Vegas. The project included a new logo, new interior and exterior design concepts, and a plan to phase out sub-brands such as Howard Johnson Inn, Howard Johnson Express Inn and Howard Johnson Plaza.[7] The reinvigoration was described as seeking to create a consistent product that would restore brand loyalty among a new generation of consumers.[8] The designs were presented as modern in look and feel while offering “a playful nod to its history.”[9]
Earlier in the brand’s history, the company used a different emblem featuring “Simple Simon and the Pieman,” a character logo that became a recognizable symbol to motoring patrons of the restaurant chain.[1] This early logo was used on dinnerware and signage during the mid-20th century.
Meaning and Symbolism
The rooftop element in the current logo directly references the orange-roofed buildings that defined the Howard Johnson brand for decades. The sunburst design above the rooftop, rendered in green, blue and white with an orange outline, evokes the sky and light above the roofline.[3] The orange underline beneath the “HOWARD JOHNSON” wordmark echoes the brand’s historical orange roof color, while the blue lettering and “BY WYNDHAM” subscript identify the brand’s current ownership structure.[4]
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