Tesco Design and Branding Evolution (2002–2014)
2002 – Introduction of Key Design Elements
External/Car Park/Exit Signage:
Red background with blue border
Text in all lowercase
Aisle Signs:
Blue background with white text (blue/white variant)
Entrance Sign:
Blue background with a white/red circle
Text:
"Helping you spend less every day" (in black)
Below: "Every little helps" slogan
Graphic: Red pound (£) sign being split in half
Enjoy the Taste of (Region) Sign:
Background color coded to region (e.g., blue in Scotland)
Regional flag in one corner
Text: "Enjoy the taste of (region) – Working with local suppliers to bring you a wide range of quality (region) products"
In-Store Wall Color Coding by Section:
Cards & Party: Light blue wall, purple sign
Electrical: Cyan wall, green sign
Opticians: Green wall
Deli/Meat/Fish: Yellow wall, orange sign
Bakery: Orange wall, yellow sign
Beers, Wine & Spirits: Purple wall, dark blue sign
Goodbye Sign:
Red background patterned with repeated Tesco logo bottom shape
Text: "Goodbye, Thank you for shopping at Tesco"
Pattern design used also for Clubcard and localized signs
2005 – Minor Update
External signage: Only change is text capitalization — first letter capitalized, rest lowercase (e.g., “Exit” instead of “exit”)
External “Open (insert hours)” sign introduced, using the red background with Tesco’s bottom shape pattern
Otherwise, design remained as per 2002
2009 – Design Refinement
Incidental signage (e.g., in-store directions and informational signs) switches to solid blue background (pattern remains on “Open” sign)
In-store walls and color coding shift to more muted/duller colors
Entrance sign remains unchanged from 2002
External signage maintains 2005 style (capital first letter, patterned “Open” sign)
2011 – Larger External Update
Interior remains consistent with 2009 style (solid blue incidental signs, duller colors)
External signage changes significantly:
Background changes to solid blue with no border
Introduction of new sign style incorporating:
An image
A square overlay in the right corner containing text
New Clubcard sign:
Text: “Clubcard, Our little way of saying thank you for shopping with us”
New local sign with a berries background and regional flag (similar to 2002/2009)
Entrance sign text and red pound cut price symbol remain, but now text is white on blue background
2012 – Bright Colors Return
Walls and in-store color scheme brighten back up to livelier tones
Aisle signs now include an image of the product for clearer navigation
Entrance signage refresh:
Wooden theme background introduced
The slogan “Helping you spend less every day” is replaced by a "Hello" made out of several grocery items
Red pound cut price symbol is removed
Other signage elements largely unchanged
This sets the stage for the 2014 major refresh
2014 – Major Refresh and Removal of Old Design
Wooden theme on entrance retained to create a warm, natural feel
All remnants of the 2002 design (colors, patterns, pound sign, etc.) removed
Store walls now plain white, creating a fresher, lighter feel
The 2012 product image aisle sign design remains
New signage introduced:
Hello sign: Warm, welcoming style consistent with wooden design
Here to Help sign:
Text:
“Whether you're here for the weekly essentials or (something local), it's the little things that make your trip better; a few pennies less at the till, a few minutes less at the queue, or a few extra Clubcard points when you least expect it. Whichever you need us for, we're here to help, so come on in.”
New Clubcard sign:
Visual: Father and son playing
Text: “Rewarding you, Clubcard, Helping you get the most out of Tesco”
Food passion sign:
Text beginning: “Passionate about Food: It’s cooking, you can almost taste it. At Tesco we're passionate about food...” (remaining text unknown)
Accompanied by images evoking high-quality food and cooking
Love Local sign: Reinforces emphasis on sourcing and local products
Write a fictional design for the 2019 era, The old local slogan returns