2020 was a big deal for many different reasons. Among other things, it turned out to be the year of the new automobile emblem, with manufacturers ranging from Nissan to Rolls-Royce announcing new designs that are nearly all characterized by the word “flat.” But a year ago this month, the first one to be shown was arguably the greatest of the group.
BMW’s new logo, which was unveiled in March of last year, is a translucent, flat reworking of its once metallic insignia. To achieve a clean, modern appearance, the traditional outer black ring has been eliminated and replaced with pure transparency. Both the circle pattern and the Bavarian state colors of white and blue are still present.
The straightforward design has a lot of appeal to us. Its simplicity suggests that it has been updated with digital use in mind, but it also recognizes the 103-year history of the brand, making it a strong example of both traditional and modern logo design. While there was some initial skepticism online, it quickly became apparent that the transparent design is perfect for both physical and digital uses, like the entertaining reveal video above.
BMW is evolving into a relationship brand, according to senior vice president of customer and brand Jens Thiemer. additionally intended to “radiate more openness and clarity,” the transparent logo.
Since then, BMW has added the 2020 design to its history of the logo page (opens in new tab). The boldness of this redesign becomes more apparent when viewed in context (below), where the elimination of the black ring seems to be the most significant alteration to the emblem since 1917.
We were especially intrigued in the article’s clarification of the widespread myth that the emblem itself symbolizes a propeller when BMW initially published it in 2019 (opens in new tab). This was inspired by a 1929 advertisement (below), which included the logo inside a moving airplane propeller to advertise a new aviation engine BMW was developing.
According to the report, “sticking to the story that the BMW is a propeller would not be altogether inaccurate” because BMW “for a long time made little effort to refute the myth that the BMW insignia is a propeller.” It’s refreshing to hear a company say that its logo may be whatever you want it to be in a world of bureaucracy and impossible-to-follow rules.
Considering that Renault quietly unveiled a new design just last week, it appears that the flat vehicle logo trend will persist beyond 2021. The unveiling of Kia’s new logo may have been the silliest ever, with the company’s spectacular ceremony outdoing even the most lavish New Year’s celebrations.
In This Article...
When did the BMW logo change?
For 2020, BMW is updating both its online and offline roundel logos. Only six different trademark interpretations have existed throughout the company’s more than 100-year history, with the most recent modification occurring in 1997. As it is for “communication purposes,” it won’t be installed on cars just yet.
According to BMW, the updated look “expresses the revamped brand identity, which places the client at the center of all activities.”
Any color the logo is stamped on will fill that area where the solid black ring transitions to transparency. Compared to the old logo, which appeared more three-dimensional, the current one is flatter. Recently, Volkswagen also adopted a flatter appearance since it is more beneficial in digital media.
According to AdAge, the reviews have been inconsistent. The transparent portion is not liked by The Verge, but the flatter appearance is. The see-through portion is similarly described by Brand New, a website that focuses on rebranding “which, in my opinion, added a rich contrast to the white and blue and is what made the BMW so recognizable and attractive. It truly appears as though something is missing from the new logo without the black and the idea of transparency.”
Personally, I like it. In client correspondence, I picture it on a yellow, orange, or red background. For the company’s i-brand of electric and hybrid vehicles, it may also be set to green.
BMW provides the following (in German) explanation of the origins of the logo:
In 1917, Bayerische Motoren Werke was founded. The Munich-based producer of aviation engines at the time changed its name from BMW to Rapp Motorenwerke. The name was altered. At first, the labor, resources, and technical systems were the same.
“Because BMW had no end users for whom to promote in the early days, the emblem and its meaning were by no means as present to a broad audience as they are today.” The German Air Force’s aircraft engines were produced and maintained as the company’s primary product.
This information was imported. At their website, you might be able to discover the same material in a different format or more details.
How many times has the BMW logo changed?
BMW has only changed its emblem four times over the years, and each alteration was pretty small. The overall logo very closely resembles the original concept. A A
The BMW emblem had its most significant alteration in 1936, as it laid the groundwork for the current version. Silver was used in place of the gold accents to give it a chrome appearance. A
1963: To add a touch of added sophistication, BMW made a few minor changes to its emblem. The serif letters were converted to sans-serif in a strong white typeface, and the outlines were sharpened. A darker hue of blue was added to the middle circle. A
2020 until the present: BMW simplified its logo. Its primary colors are now only white, blue, and grey. A
What does the BMW emblem stand for?
The BMW logo, complete with the four colored quadrants, is shown on a spinning airplane propeller in a 1929 BMW advertisement. Since then, the idea that the BMW emblem symbolizes a propeller has persisted
How did Mercedes decide on their logo?
Meaning of the Mercedes-Benz Logo The three points of the Mercedes-Benz star together symbolize the company’s pursuit of global motorization, but each point also has a distinct meaning. The points stand for land, sea, and air, which the corporation envisioned as being the three spheres they would eventually rule with Mercedes-Benz engines.
What is the BMW logo’s coded message?
The whirling airplane blades that make up the BMW logo’s centre portion represent the company’s early heritage of aviation technology.
What caused BMW to modify their grille?
Before we discuss the ridiculous new nose, let’s first discuss why the brand would have bothered to alter the recognizable BMW kidney grille in the first place. Beamer claims that the M3 and M4 models’ motors are to blame. The new inline 6 motors included in both models, according to them and Autocar, merely required more air. In accordance with marketing conventions, they must also produce more power.
Of course, adding more air and fuel will accomplish that goal more quickly. Despite the new 2 Series’ attractive exterior, BMW need a larger nose to allow for airflow. Of course, its design leader also claims that it is because the 328-inspired shape of the new BMW kidney grille is a nod to earlier models. Regardless, the new look hasn’t been well welcomed, and I’m a loud critic of the nose on the BMW M4.
What caused Jaguar to alter their logo?
Jaguar relocated the leaping cat logo from the hood to the back of the car due to recent pedestrian safety requirements that forbid the use of bulging insignia on the front of vehicles. Jaguar automobiles now have a roaring cat visage on the grill.
Why do owners of BMWs debadge their vehicles?
Debadging describes the procedure of removing a vehicle’s manufacturer’s insignia. The manufacturer’s logo and the emblems identifying the car model are frequently removed symbols.
Debadging is frequently done to hide a model with lesser specifications or to compliment a modified car’s smoothed-out appearance. Some people who drive high-end luxury vehicles opt to remove the badge rather than show off how unique their vehicle is compared to others in its class. Customers of high-end brands of vehicles, such as BMW or Mercedes-Benz, etc., frequently ask to have the badges removed, especially in Europe. Debadging a car, in the opinion of many auto enthusiasts, makes it easier to clean. This is due to the fact that manufacturer emblems have a horrible reputation for catching wax, which is challenging to remove from tiny cracks. Additionally, sleepers are occasionally debadged to cover up any minute signs that they are a high performance car.
Removing the car’s commercial advertising is another typical justification for debadging. Since drivers are not compensated for promoting the business, some opt to have the vehicle’s promotional features removed. Similar to this, movie, television, and advertising studios could decide to have cars in their works debadged in order to avoid suggesting product placement or support of a specific car brand.
While the majority of contemporary automobile emblems are affixed with adhesive and easily removable, certain emblems necessitate varied degrees of bodywork to fill in gaps and mounting holes left behind.
Debadging may also refer to the procedure of removing the front grille’s manufacturer’s logo. The grille is frequently changed out for a simple one, one from a different make and model of car, or one with a more subdued branding from an aftermarket manufacturer like ABT, Irmscher, or Kamei. This is a typical modification method used on leadsleds and kustoms that was developed in the 1940s.
Before committing violations ranging from straightforward toll evasion to more serious ones, criminals have been known to debadge a car.
Why do BMWs have three stripes?
There has been considerable misunderstanding regarding the M Division’s colors’ historical roots for many years. Which is unexpected given that the BMW M’s three red, blue, and bluer-colored stripes are arguably the most well-known color combination in the whole automobile industry. Of course, there are rumors, but for many years the true history of the company’s well-known hues has been at best hazy. That is, up until now.
After losing to Ford repeatedly with its customer teams, BMW established the M Division in the 1970s. In essence, BMW took Jochan Neerpasch away from Ford’s factory racing team and hired him as the manager of BMW M, its own brand-new factory racing squad.
Neerpasch took Hans-Joachim Stuck, a rising star at Ford, with him when he left Ford to join BMW’s recently established M Division.
BMW needed sponsors when it was developing its now-iconic M Division, just like any other racing team. Therefore, before really launching a racing product onto the track, BMW did some research and came to the conclusion that it needed Texaco, which at the time was Ford’s sponsor, as its primary partner.
Therefore, the Bavarians created a logo and racing livery with three stripes, one of which was red, the color of Texaco’s insignia, in an effort to court Texaco.
Since it is a similar shade of blue to the Bavarian flag colors included in its own Roundel, a light blue stripe was placed opposite the red stripe to signify BMW. A purple tint, intended to resemble a blend of the two colors—a lovely transition between the colors, if you will—was sandwiched between the red and the light blue.
Then, in an effort to get Texaco as the M Division’s sponsor, this three-stripe livery was employed. The “red” was intended to serve as Texaco’s hook. But the agreement between BMW and Texaco collapsed before BMW had deployed a M Division product on the field. Although we don’t quite know why, we do know that the agreement fell through before it even got started.
BMW had nonetheless already created the logo and livery and really liked it. Therefore, BMW M made the decision to embrace it, giving rise to the enduring three-stripe “/M” badge.
The purple tint in the /M logo changed to a dark blue color over time, which was one of the most significant alterations.
When we previously covered the history of the M logo, we were unknowingly only roughly 90% accurate. There has been some additional uncertainty since then. As a result, we decided to get in touch with one of our sources at BMW Romania, Alex Seremet, who has hosted Jochen Neerpasch personally at various BMW events and has actually spoken to him about this same topic.
The real story is that BMW intended to work with Texaco; the contract went through, but BMW M still loved the logo and livery, so if you want to boring your buddies at the bar about where the colors for the BMW M emblem came from, you can tell them that. And don’t forget to mention that you heard it here.