IHOP is not in the business of frowns.

The International House of Pancakes is in the business of pancakes and bacon and waffles smothered in whipped cream. But it is not, let it be known, in the business of making you grimace.

Maybe you thought otherwise, since the purveyor of breakfast foods has been inadvertently advertising itself as pro-frown for the last 20 years thanks to an arched red banner displaying “Restaurant” underneath IHOP’s wordmark.

IHOP

To be honest, we never noticed the negative vibes emanating from IHOP’s logo—it was boring and dated, sure, but far from demoralizing. Still, in case there was any confusion, IHOP has gone and gotten itself a new logo that makes it very clear the company wants to erase any of the subconsciously negative connotations you’ve associated with the brand over the years.

Yesterday, the breakfast chain unveiled its first new logo in 20 years, and it’s a very happy logo, indeed. Designed by Kansas City’s Studio Tilt, the mark is meant to be read as a smiley face. A simple, red swipe under the “eyes” of "O" and "P" is supposed to make you think of all the happily bulging waist bands trotting out of IHOPs doors after a feast of banana pudding pancakes.

By sheer comparison, the new logo is a vast improvement on what IHOP’s head of marketing, Kirk Thompson, refers to as the “corporate signature” IHOP has been using for the past two decades. The ingredients from the old symbol are still there—red, blue, typography as fluffy as pancakes—but the visual complexity is dialed back, leaving just a flat logotype and a thin red grin underneath. Shawn Sanem, a senior designer at Studio Tilt, says he kept the same custom typeface but tightened and streamlined it a bit. He also mentioned that they played with the position, thickness, and shape of the smile before deciding that the symmetrical thin line was best. “It’s a little more understated and geometric in nature,” he says. “Intuitively, it just looks balanced.”

IHOP

Freed of the blue box prison and heavy drop shadows, the new logo feels lighter, more modern, and younger—a nod to the fact that IHOP wants to cater to a younger crowd. The logo certainly looks cleaner and will prove to be far more flexible than its predecessor. Already, the new identity works much better on IHOP’s various touchpoints, including mugs, menus, and signage.

Still, there’s something about it that feels a little off. Anthropomorphization is tricky, and while perfectly benign, IHOP’s execution veers toward the creepy, in a happy-clown sort of way. It’s also, as Bret Hansen, creative director at Siegel+Gale notes, a standard solution for a client that wants their brand to feel youthful, fresh, and cheerful. “I imagine ‘inviting’ and 'homey' were the some of the words used in the creative brief,” he says.

The fact that it’s obvious is a selling point for Sanem, who says the studio toyed with grin-free logos before finally settling on the iteration you see today. “A smile is the international symbol for happiness,” he says. “Everyone is going to see that, and it’s going to make them happy regardless of how obvious it is from a design standpoint.”