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BMW’s new flat logo is everything that’s wrong with modern logo design

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Re: BMW’s new flat logo is everything that’s wrong with modern logo design

#71

Post by zzzcpan »

nathanaldensr wrote: post #50
valine wrote: post #3

The new logo looks more top heavy somehow. When there was a dark ring the logo looked balanced, now it looks like the center of gravity is off and the logo wouldn’t stay upright if placed on a table.

My take on this is the airplane propellers in the center--that's what the white and blue signifies, for those who don't know--draw your eye toward the center-point of the logo, but the "BMW" draws your eye back up, causing a sort of "oscillation." If they insist on this design then eliminating the outer ring would likely cause a more balanced reaction.

Yeah, should have removed the letters too.

Re: BMW’s new flat logo is everything that’s wrong with modern logo design

#72

Post by mastre_ »

turbinerneiter wrote: post #8

BMW builds _cars_, not Apps. They pride themselves in craftsmanship. The Logo badge on the actual car is a three dimensional, physical thing. Instead of embracing that, they made it flat like an App icon. It will look shit on cars and it does not communicate that BMW builds _real machines_. Everybody is going crazy about going digital and they forget what they are good at and what the customer likes them for.

> They pride themselves in craftsmanship.

Used to. These days, not so much. And they're misfiring quite a bit. For example, the new X3 xDrive30e gets a measly 18 miles of electric range (EPA; real-world likely less). All of that added complexity and weight for very little benefit (in 2020 -- 10 years ago it would have been alright). No 3er manuals in the US anymore. Have you seen the rear of the new 3er which looks like Lexus IS? Have you seen what the 5er looks like, heck even in M5 guise? And so on, and so on.

Sry, I used to be a BMW guy and that touched (touches?) a nerve. They had the right formula when the i3 originally came out, and then someone at the top decided to effectively kill the program and most of their top EV engineers left. They would have been way ahead of where they are today, and of most of their competition, had they not intentionally shot themselves in the foot.

With that logo, it's a done deal, I'll never buy their product again. BMW was something you could identify with.

Re: BMW’s new flat logo is everything that’s wrong with modern logo design

#73

Post by karatestomp »

kossae wrote: post #2

I'm no designer.. but the new logo looks horrendous. From the few design principles I do know, it appears they took all of them and did the exact opposite. If they wanted to stick with flat design, they could have easily repurposed their existing logo without beveling/lighting to achieve what would likely be a much better result.

An awful lot of flat logos and interfaces these days look like things that would have gotten you a "oh, did you, the design-challenged developer, design this? That's OK for now but we'll get a real designer on it before it goes to production" a decade or two ago. Stuff I'd be embarrassed to show anyone because they look like crap (but are within my limited design abilities!) but I guess they're fine because a "designer" did it.

OTOH it's the easiest it's been since the late 90s to make a webpage or program look "professionally designed" if you don't mind the current terrible aesthetic, so there's that.

Re: BMW’s new flat logo is everything that’s wrong with modern logo design

#74

Post by tossingaway4 »

acomjean wrote: post #64

I thought the logo was a airplane propeller. Its actually just the bavarvian flag.. (B standing for "Bavaria" a region of Germany, "MW" Motor Werk. It has evlovlved slightly over the years, but its kinda still the same. If it looks bad with a transparent background they'll fill it in. Some "historical" BMW logos. https://www.motor1.com/news/365668/bmw-logo-isnt-propeller/ Ad with the (not) BMW "Propeller Logo" https:…

BMW stands for (the literal translation) Bavarian Motor Works. Not surprising they would use that flag in their logo.

Re: BMW’s new flat logo is everything that’s wrong with modern logo design

#78

Post by lowdose »

awb wrote: post #58
chasing wrote: post #35

> Sure, it looks nice on BMW’s bronze-hued electric i4 sedan concept, but what about on a white BMW? Or a letterhead? Or on a sign for a BMW dealership on a highway? Is the author really concerned that BMW's design team didn't think about how this logo would be used in such fundamental ways? I can guarantee you that they did. You can personally like or not like it, fine. But if you're going to write a judgey article…

> Companies don't just have some intern change their logo up for no reason at all. Companies redesign their brand (websites, logos, etc.) all the time and it often correlates with a new hire who wants a "fresh start" with the brand. Jens Thiemer who is the SVP of Customer and Brand and spearheaded this effort has been at BMW a little over 1 year. It's a way of staking your claim at a company and putting your literal…

Just out of interest are you a freelancer?

Re: BMW’s new flat logo is everything that’s wrong with modern logo design

#79

Post by BigBubbleButt »

atoav wrote: post #24
turbinerneiter wrote: post #8

BMW builds _cars_, not Apps. They pride themselves in craftsmanship. The Logo badge on the actual car is a three dimensional, physical thing. Instead of embracing that, they made it flat like an App icon. It will look shit on cars and it does not communicate that BMW builds _real machines_. Everybody is going crazy about going digital and they forget what they are good at and what the customer likes them for.

Additionally it isn't well composed. I learned graphics design from a guy who actually learned it by using his hands to pit down the letters. He had us move one black square around on a white page for 3 hours and explain why we put it where we did. Then we were allowed two squares of arbitrary size, later colors etc. If you are learning it from that basic level you cannot unsee badly unbalanced design. You cannot jus…

> This thing looks like it has been made by the CEOs daugther in Powerpoint.

I love this. I know only a bit about graphic design, but this new logo just looks...cheap. My first thought was a high school student made it with whatever free software he could find while he was bored during class, and gave up after 30 minutes because class was over.

I'm not a big fan of the new flat VW logo either, although it's much better than this.

https://www.motor1.com/news/369756/volkswagen-new-logo-unvei...

Re: BMW’s new flat logo is everything that’s wrong with modern logo design

#80

Post by brozaman »

globular-toast wrote: post #43
turbinerneiter wrote: post #8

BMW builds _cars_, not Apps. They pride themselves in craftsmanship. The Logo badge on the actual car is a three dimensional, physical thing. Instead of embracing that, they made it flat like an App icon. It will look shit on cars and it does not communicate that BMW builds _real machines_. Everybody is going crazy about going digital and they forget what they are good at and what the customer likes them for.

> BMW builds _cars_, not Apps. They pride themselves in craftsmanship Do they? You're commenting on a thread about their logo change which suggests they don't. BMW has for very long time been primarily a brand. Take away the brand and they simply wouldn't compete in the market. They build real machines, but not very good ones. Look at Honda if you want an example of a company that is about the machines.

Very debatable. Depends on the model. That may be true for the X models, but if you want that is real wheel drive, practical and fun around corners, you don't have many options.

It's worth saying that due to taxing in USA they are a worse deal than in Europe.

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