A New Look for a New Image

Recently, the car company Audi changed its company logo. Audi seems to have followed the lead of many other big time companies that have changed their company logos. However, unlike Pepsi, Audi seems to have changed for the better, with just a few minor changes.On the left is Audi's former company logo. This company logo can most likely be attributed to Audi's racing history. Audi's have long been popular in the motor sports scene due to their superior speed and handling. Many rally-car drivers preferred Audi for this reason. You can see this in the logo. The font looks to be italicized- with the A and the d slanted- which gives the sense of motion. Also, the four interlocked rings have a more matte finish, making it look more metallic (as stated in Brand New). This finish makes it look as though the metal is stronger and more durable, something a racing car should be.
However, over the years, Audi has become known more as a luxury vehicle, competing with companies such as BMW and Mercedes. This more luxurious feeling is shown most definitely in the new logo. For starters, they changed the four interlocked rings from a more matte finish to a more chrome-based finish. This obviously gives the sense of luxury, as the metal is more illustrious, shining much more than the matte finish. The change is also seen in the new font. The font is now noticeably smaller and a much plainer, more elegant typeface. This is much more befitting of a luxury car company, as apposed to the old, big and italicized typeface.
In my opinion, the change that Audi made to its company logo is a good change.
All too often we see a company try to change its logo to express a new image, but fail in the process. This is evident in the new Pepsi logo. The company recently changed its logo to express a new younger, modern image. To try and push their new logo, Pepsi set up ads that featured Bob Dylan's "Forever Young" infused with a new hip beat and lyrics by Will. I Am. However, even with the millions of dollars they spent on this shift, and although it was just a minor tweak, Pepsi has been criticized heavily for the change. In contrast, Audi's change in their logo fits the image they want to convey, which is luxury. If you compare it to the logos of BMW and Mercedes-Benz, they all look pretty similar- the typeface that is.
Audi and Mercedes now both have very similar logos. They both have a very simple, yet elegant looking typeface, along with a chrome feel to it which evokes a sense of luxury.
So, in my opinion, good job to Audi for a successful change.

http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/index.php?page=2