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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Larry Ryan

‘The way the world is, something daft is appealing’ – why everything from pizzas to podcasts has a cartoon character on it

Various examples of Rubber Hose style.
Clockwise from bottom left: a Yard Sale pizza T-shirt design by Patrick Schmidt, a Hard Lines House Party coffee pouch, a Salt Beef Bagel Tee by Batch 1, another Schmidt design for Yard Sale on a T-shirt, and on a pizza box. Composite: Guardian Design/Batch1/Yard Sale

A bagel embodied as a human, with unexpected little arms and a sweet face. A sandwich giving the peace sign. A leather jacket-wearing fish brandishing a spatula. A chess board on the march. A rugby ball making a dash for it. A smiling pizza, tongue dangling, clambering from a box.

Perhaps you have seen such a character. Chiefly in the branding – and merch – of an independent pizza place or sandwich shop, in a natural wine bar or brew pub. Though its loose limbs now stretch far and wide; to podcasts, internet talk shows and even global fashion labels.

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