Automotive brand rebrands: the great, the dangerous and the ugly By Joseph Foley revealed 10 April 23 Graphic Design These brand redesigns had very completely different outcomes.

5 months ago 4 min read

Automotive brand rebrands have are available in thick and quick during the last couple of years with virtually each main producer leaping on the flat design development. In virtually each case, the automobile logos had been made less complicated and flatter for a extra trendy look, but in addition to make them simpler to render in smaller digital functions.

When the primary utility of a automobile brand was the badge on the entrance of the automobile, 3D designs with bevels, shadows and fussy particulars labored nice. That is not a lot the case when automobile producers now have apps and in-audio media techniques that require using the emblem. However latest automobile brand rebrands haven’t all the time been acquired the way in which they corporations might need hoped. Whereas some handle to modernise whereas sustaining model heritage, others are illegible or simply plain ugly.

For extra design suggestions, see our piece on design a brand and our picks of the very best logos of all time. Within the meantime, listed below are 5 designs that present the great, the dangerous and the ugly or automobile brand rebrands.

01. The nice: Peter Saville’s Aston Martin brand

The Aston Martin automobile brand rebrand was easy however efficient (Picture credit score: Aston Martin)

The new Aston Martin brand proves that generally a delicate change is all that is wanted. Peter Saville, well-known for his work for the Hacienda and Manufacturing facility Data, adopted the development in direction of simplification however with out sacrificing the model’s heritage. He changed the gradient background with a stable racing inexperienced and ditched the fussy semi-circular line on the wings. It appears so easy, nevertheless it works completely. No shocks, no confusion. Many individuals won’t even discover the change, however the brand new design offers the flexibility and extra trendy look that the model needed.

02. The nice: Citroen’s retro-modern brand

The new Citroen logo and old Citroen logo side by side

Previous (left) and previous new (proper) (Picture credit score: Citroen)

The brand new Citroen brand is an obvious contradiction. It manages to concurrently look extra trendy and extra conventional than the design it changed. That is as a result of the French carmaker went full circle, or full oval, if you’ll. It travelled a century again in time to revisit its authentic 1919 brand design, however added a couple of tweaks and a extra trendy color palette. The result’s a brand that is less complicated and flatter but in addition extra in step with the model’s heritage. Generally, it’s important to go backwards to go forwards (simply not if you’re behind the wheel).

03. The nice: the clear BMW brand

BMW logo update

The BMW is a lesson in simplicity (Picture credit score: BMW/Future Owns)

Going additional again, BMW was one of many first automobile makers to simplify its brand. Unveiled in March 2020, the brand new BMW brand is a clear, flat reimagining of the beforehand metallic emblem. The black outer ring was made clear, and 3D results had been eliminated. It is minimal, nevertheless it retains the white and blue colors of the corporate’s residence state of Bavaria. There was initially some scepticism amongst drivers, however the design’s confirmed to work nicely in bodily functions in addition to digital.

04. The dangerous: the brand new Kia brand

Kia logo

The a lot mocked brand for KN automobiles… sorry, Kia (Picture credit score: Kia)

Sure, we all know. We won’t cease complaining in regards to the new Kia brand. However simply take a look at it. Positive, the earlier Kia brand was terribly chintzy, however no less than it was legible. Revealed in a ridiculous blaze of fireworks and drones, the brand new design is sleeker and racier with its sawtooth wave, however that comes on the worth of comprehension. There’s even proof from Google search outcomes of a surge in individuals trying up “KN” automobiles because the new brand was launched.

05. The ugly: Audi’s ‘low-cost’ brand redesign

Audi logo

Individuals suppose the brand new Audio brand seems to be low-cost (Picture credit score: Audi)

Audi already had one of many easiest automobile logos, and one of many best to attract from reminiscence, nevertheless it’s joined the flat design celebration too. The automobile model dropped the shiny bevelled design for an much more “restrained, pure, and clear” design. However whereas the 4 rings themselves are “virtually similar” geometrically, motorists weren’t impressed. “It actually does look low-cost,” one individual commented on the Audi Reddit web page. “Appears simply pasted on, as an afterthought.” “What a disappointment. One of many issues I preferred about Audi is that they nonetheless used bodily badges that you may really feel and run your hand throughout,” one other driver complained.

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