IHOP Font: Custom Lettering and the Smile Redesign

In a 2015 interview with WIRED, Studio Tilt senior designer Shawn Sanem described retaining the custom typeface while tightening and streamlining it. He also discussed adjusting the smile’s position, thickness and shape. That first-hand account supports a specific logo revision; it does not identify an ordinary retail family as the complete logo. HOK’s own project account separately documents the identity and graphic standards work.

Create an original two-word breakfast heading, first without a symbol. Compare the gaps between its letters at the intended sign size and on a small loyalty card. Once the lettering reads as a balanced whole, place an independently drawn curve below it in three positions. Keep the letter setting fixed while comparing the curves, then keep the selected curve fixed while refining spacing. This makes it easier to see which change alters the balance. Fredoka is a separately named rounded comparison for the exercise, not an IHOP font preview.

HOK’s account includes typeface recommendations, templates, packaging and in-store graphics within the standards manual. That scope explains why identifying a logo alone cannot settle every menu-text choice. For an original identity, proof the name on a cup and a sign, then proof a full dish name, price and opening time on a menu. Keep those details independently readable with a separate family such as Manrope. The homepage Unicode text generator is useful for copyable decorative characters, while an installed font and a drawn logo require their own artwork workflow. See the logo-font guide for broader comparisons.