Volkswagen’s new logo captures brand’s philosophy

HOW does one reinterpret an icon?

Very carefully. And it’s apparent Volkswagen is all too aware of this as the carmaker, just before it raised the curtain to reveal the “New Volkswagen“ at Frankfurt Motor Show, unveiled its new logo and brand design. Volkswagen said this world premiere marked the start of a new era for the company, accompanied as it was by the presentation of the full-electric ID.301. 

Volkswagen said its future is electric, fully connected and has a neutral carbon balance. With its new brand design, it creates a uniform global 360-degree brand experience which is more modern and more authentic.

The new Volkswagen logo, with its flat two-dimensional design, captures this mindset, according to the company. The new logo is clearer and has been reduced to its essential elements. The brand design and the logo aim for high flexibility and are intended for digital applications. The realignment of Volkswagen’s brand design is one of the world’s largest re-branding campaigns. The changeover to the new brand design is due to be completed by mid-2020.

“The new brand design marks the start of the new era for Volkswagen,” said Jurgen Stackmann, member of the brand board of management responsible for sales, marketing and after-sales. “By formulating new content and with new products, the brand is undergoing a fundamental transformation towards a future with a neutral emission balance for everyone. Now is the right time to make the new attitude of our brand visible to the outside world.”

“New Volkswagen” can be seen and experienced in the design of the vehicles, in customer contacts and in the brand presentation as a whole, the company said.

It added its chief designer, Klaus Bischoff, played a key role in the development of the new corporate identity.

“In the new brand design, we have created an authentic communications platform for the emotional presentation of e-mobility. We are showing the Volkswagen of the future under the motto of “digital first” and “no filter.”

Jochen Sengpiehl, chief marketing officer of Volkswagen, explained; “We have created a new holistic global brand experience on all channels and across all touch points. As a general principle, the aim in future will not be to show a perfect advertising world. In our presentation, we want to become more human and more lively, to adopt the customer’s perspective to a greater extent and to tell authentic stories.”

Volkswagen said the strategy for the new brand design was not laid by external agencies but by a joint team of its design and marketing staff. The design was implemented across all departments in only nine months using a concept developed by the company specifically for this purpose.

Volkswagen said its re-branding is one of the largest projects of this type in the industry worldwide; 171 markets are concerned. At the 10,000 facilities of dealers and service partners throughout the world, about 70,000 logos will be replaced.

The symbol and trademark will be the new logo. This will be more modern, clearer and simpler. The logo will be reduced to its essential elements and presented with a new design that is flat and two-dimensional. It will allow more flexible use and will be outstandingly recognizable in digital media. To date, the logo has been blue and white. A new blue tone is now being added, allowing additional color variants. As the digital application with simple, user-friendly interfaces has become extremely important, the logo will be positioned flexibly with the new “moving frame” in the future, according to Volkswagen.