Volvo updates logo for an “electrified” and digital future
The Swedish manufacturers has unveiled a flat logo redesign, as part of a wider brand update intended to tie into ongoing automotive trends.
Volvo has revealed a new flat logo, which will be rolled out across interfaces and products, as part of a move towards a digital and electric-focused future.
The logo – which is known as the Volvo Iron Mark – now appears as a flat design, the first major update since 2014’s 3D iteration.
The brand’s wordmark also now appears in a “spread version” and will be used for both Volvo Group and Volvo Car Group, explains Volvo Group senior vice president of brand experience Caroline Fransson.
The updates are a result of an in-house collaboration between design teams at Volvo Group and Volvo Car Group, Fransson confirms.
“Modernise, unify and optimise”
Volvo’s identity had to “modernise, unify and optimise for the digital landscape in which our businesses operate”, Fransson says.
While the Volvo Group handles the company’s varied output – which includes buses, trucks and digital services – Volvo Car Group is a subsidiary owned by Chinese manufacturer Geely Holding Group.
Speaking about the unification, Fransson says: “Even if we are two, individually strong companies in different businesses, we have a joint responsibility to maintain and evolve the Volvo brand perception.”
Fransson says that the Iron Mark is a “key element in the history of the Volvo brand”. “It has earned tremendous credibility over the years as a distinct carrier of the Volvo brand and its values,” she adds.
The logo dates back to when Volvo started manufacturing cars in 1926, appearing on the first Volvo car the following year.
The circle and diagonal arrow combination symbolises the “ancient chemical symbol for iron”, according to a Volvo Car Group press release explaining the history of the mark. The symbol originally represented the planet and Roman god Mars, which linked it to iron, as most weapons were made from metal at the time, the company explains.
This most recent design update embraces “the ongoing digital transformation as well as electrified movements in the markets and in society”, Fransson says.
Both the wordmark and updated Iron Mark will be rolled-out across interfaces and products, according to Fransson, though a set date has not yet been revealed.
Volvo’s new flat logo follows a trend in car design of recent years, as brands move towards both a digital and electric future. The company released its first pure electric SUV last year.
It also owns electric car brand Polestar. We spoke to designer and Polestar CEO Thomas Ingenlath to understand the design “secrets and mysteries” which are driving its innovation.
What do you think of Volvo’s updates? Let us know in the comments below.
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Give me strength, what complete and utter tosh.
The “spread” wordmark on its own is allright IMO. But the Iron Mark falls straight of a cliff! The thick outline stands in a WAY too high contrast to the thin wordmark inside. Really weird choice. The font is just too thin compared to the massive thick circle that throws it completely out of ballance
An entirely predictable rebland. Looks the same as every other recent automotive rebrand.
It seems that line thicknesses are following the current trend – restrained and nervous in style. The new VW logo suffers from the same affliction. I think that vehicle manufacturers are subconsciously demonstrating unpredictable futures.
OH BEHAVE!
It may have origins in an ‘Ancient chemical sign for iron’ or a shield and sword, all intended to represent the strength of Volvo, however, I’m a little surprised that a symbol for ‘male’ is still regarded as the best form to symbolise strength.
Digital considerations (i.e. flat, simplified, shrinkable, screen ready, one colour) above all else. What about considering the brand character, a symbolic representation of the product and connecting with potential consumers first? Still, it has marginally more character than the BT rebrand from a couple of years ago.
Is is a ‘male’ only car company? The traditional symbol for a male is an arrow with a small stem.
“Volvo……For Men”
As a logo designer at Logo Zeal It is surprising that a symbol representing ‘male-ness’ is still deemed as one of the best representations of strength, even though it may have come from ‘ancient chemical signs” or a sword or shield symbolizing the strength of Volvo.
A missed opportunity to refresh that marque and logotype; to move both forward. Still too literal and stuck in the past.