Buick Citroen and Volvo have a fresh brand.

The new Buick logo happened by accident.

Back in spring 2022, carmaker Buick revealed a new logo which has to be said confused a lot of people. Fans of the brand were confused by the new design, with some thinking the new logo represented teeth, claws and even a beard trimmer! It now turns out the rebrand happened by mistake.

The design manager for Buick was quoted as saying that the new logo was a “happy accident.” The initial sketch by artist Geoffrey Richmond was an early concept featuring rough lines designed to be filled in later to more closely resemble the old design with its circular border. The traditional Buick badge had not yet been placed on the sketch, which was the intention.

General Motors President Mark Reuss spotted it and liked it.

This is how it ended up a bolder and more minimal representation of the previous logo. There is no ring around the three shields, and the diagonal line has been replaced with a curved line.

I wonder. Is the new logo worthy of a car brand or more suited to a nail salon?

Has the Citroen logo come full circle?

The new Citroen logo has been designed to make it suited to digital applications and with that in mind the carmaker has reverted to its original oval shape first seen in 1919. The logo is now more prominent, more angular and sports a new colour and typeface. Retained are the now familiar chevrons which have been on every version of the logo, the reason being André Citroën had a metalworking company that made chevron-shaped herringbone gear systems.

The chevrons are now simplified with sharp points rather than curves and encased in a vertical oval frame.

Apart from the new vehicles, you will also see the new logo on signage at the dealerships and marketing material in weeks to come. I think it’s a nice clean, well-balanced logo that’s more modern than the outgoing logo, but what do you think?

Let’s have a look at Volvo.

Volvo has introduced a ‘flat’ design which seems to be becoming the trend in the automotive industry, think VW for example. The logo, also known as the ‘Volvo Iron Mark’ originally represented the planet and Roman god Mars, which linked it to iron, as most weapons were made from metal at the time.

The feel of the Iron Mark was recently a 3D design but is now flat.

One of the reasons is part of a move towards a digital and electric-focused future which meant it had to modernise.

If you look closely you will see that the kerning (the space between each letter) has been opened out, you may have noticed the trend with new car models to have the model name running open spaced across the boot and in my opinion this change ties in with that trend.

Which do you prefer, the 3D or the flat version?

If you would like to talk about refreshing your brand.