BMW’s new flat logo is everything that’s wrong with modern logo design • Hacker News Board

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

#91

Post by arketyp » Thu, Mar 05, 2020, 5:46 PM UTC

BMW is transgressing from the petrol-carbon era and made away with the rubbery oily tire in the emblem. This is in line with the airy designs of their hybrid cars.

The new logo isn't that far from the very earliest. It would have been nice to see it in gold tones though. I think they should have held on to the heraldic feel already present with the checkerboard flag. The global market likes that exotic traditional stuff which is unique to European cars. Volvo for instance are pushing a lot on the Scandinavian heritage (only after they were acquired by the Chinese though) with minimalistic wood designs in the panel and Swedish flags on the seats.

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

#92

Post by cheschire » Thu, Mar 05, 2020, 5:47 PM UTC

amdavidson wrote: post #83

mastre_ wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 l…

You are conflating design decisions with craftsmanship. I would argue that they still pride themselves in the execution of the designs, even if you (and I) disagree with some of the design direction.

Anecdotally I've known 5 BMW owners, one was an older car (early 2000's), the rest made after 2010. The older one wrecked unfortunately, and all but one of the rest had mechanical failures.

Statistically they may not be any better or worse than any other manufacturer, but I still can't convince myself that their craftsmanship is any better. The koreans pride themselves in their craftsmanship too, and their cars are a third of the price.

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

#93

Post by 0xffff2 » Thu, Mar 05, 2020, 5:53 PM UTC

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…

Okay, help someone who never learned anything about graphic design from anyone. why isn't it well composed?

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

#94

Post by globular-toast » Thu, Mar 05, 2020, 5:54 PM UTC

brozaman wrote: post #80

globular-toast wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

How many BMW drivers care about rear wheel drive? That is a very small niche. People who really want those features would go for one of the more practical sports cars.

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

#95

Post by noja » Thu, Mar 05, 2020, 5:57 PM UTC

I really want that space at the bottom half of the circle gone.

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

#96

Post by rconti » Thu, Mar 05, 2020, 5:57 PM UTC

mastre_ wrote: post #72

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 l…

It obviously touches a nerve, because the "craftsmanship" mentioned is about making physical objects, not someone trying to claim they make the best automobiles in the world.

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

#97

Post by arketyp » Thu, Mar 05, 2020, 5:59 PM UTC

mark-r wrote: post #23

My favorite observation on the changing of corporate logos: https://flowingdata.com/2009/08/13/pepsi-and-coca-cola-logo-...

Pepsi is such an archetype of the eternal identity crisis it's almost a classic identity in itself. On a shitty day, I buy Pepsi.

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

#98

Post by thrav » Thu, Mar 05, 2020, 6:02 PM UTC

leeoniya wrote: post #52

Eric_WVGG wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fake shadows and fake light is not good craftsmanship. It makes sense for a logo on a flat piece of paper to look flat and look beveled and shadowed on a badge. This evolution of the logo is bad, but not because it's flat.

yeah, they could have easily made the existing design flat[ter] but left the rest intact. the new look looks very cheap, but i bet they paid $200k for the redesign.

Remember the London Olympics logo? Something like $700k.

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

#99

Post by chasing » Thu, Mar 05, 2020, 6:04 PM UTC

jiofih wrote: post #56

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…

Basic steps such as? There is not much available about it. Also, you think too highly of corporations. Companies literally have an intern change their logo for no reason, i’ve been that intern. There are dozens of levels of people more worried about saving face than anything else.

As an intern you changed the logo for a company with a public-facing brand with the same value and visibility as BMW's? For no reason and with no other oversight?

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

#100

Post by thrav » Thu, Mar 05, 2020, 6:04 PM UTC

PinguTS wrote: post #69

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.

That's the thing. BMW is recognized as building cars, or as you say _real machines_. Instead BMW tries to transform its business to provide mobility. Its a service provider and the service is mobility. It is not the cars. The cars are the vehicle to provide mobility, one form of mobility. BMW has several brands to communicate this mobility, which are ShareNOW, FreeNOW, and ReachNOW. ShareNow is what used to be DriveN…

This is every car manufacturer. They’re either making these investments, or resigned to their own demise.