Earlier this year (March 2020), BMW replaced her logo by a new flattened, simplified version of her previous 3D classic emblem, following the existing design trend. There is a controversy as to whether this new ambiguous, transparent, flat logo is equivalent to the company’s prestigious Image. The main argument is that the car manufacturer traded the classic for the trendy, and this disappointed many of the brand fans, that will have to see this badge every day on their future cars.

Moreover, with the arrival of the new Apple redesigned OS (Big Sur) and its new 3D-ish modernized icons, seems more and more that the car logo facelift came at a poor timing, or she should at least have done a more thorough design-cycle trend research, to save herself from this headache. It seems that BMW flat logo change came a little too late.

In the meantime, BMW marketing people may have to answer as to why they spent time and resources, for a “previous season” flat design, that will be used only in digital media and stationary, and not on vehicles, as originally communicated. Perhaps the actual logo doesn’t give the expected feeling as the digital one. So the company decided for now, to use both accordingly while Apple sets the next design trend. Also, to face the dilemma of whether to keep this new logo with the risk of looking “out-dated” and not using it in every occasion, or change it again soon, at a time when competition is tougher than ever, and covid-19 demands a very wise budget allocation.

Verdict: BMW needs to close the gap between classic and trendy, and eventually use one logo that will look both good on cars and on stationary. Perhaps there should be an in-between solution that will keep the best of the two. A logo that will look good on vehicles and be trendy enough to make all this rebranding worth-her-while.

Case Study: BMW new logo redesigned

Images: BMW AG