VW goes electro-digital
The new ID.Buzz campervan comes with a new brand logo for Volkswagen, making it fit for the electro-digital age.
⇪ TOP: The new Volkswagen ID.Buzz, pictured on Fistral Beach, Newquay, alongside two classic V-dub camper vans. The logos on the front show the similarities between the 1960’s and 2020’s iterations.
⇧ ABOVE: The current version of the logo, introduced in 2019 and reintroducing the clean simplicity of previous years but with a sleeker and more slimline look to celebrate the launch of the company’s new range of electronic vehicle
The electric Camper
We are lucky to see more than our fair share of classic VW campervans in Cornwall, from the original split-screen T2 to the more modern T6.1. In May 2022, Volkswagen launched its new ‘ID.Buzz’—an all-electric vehicle based on the iconic T2 design.
In the summer, we spotted one on Fistral beach in Newquay, next to two classic T2s. One of the things that stood out to us, nerdy graphic designers, was the prominence of the recently updated VW logo. Like most car brands, their previous logo was a three-dimensional, chrome-effect affair, but since 2019, the familiar brand has been reduced to its basic elements. It now displays a flat, two-dimensional design.
⇧ ABOVE: Volkswagen logo evolution, from the original ‘people’s cars’ cogwheel with troubling swastika symbolism, to simplification, three dimensional and gradient complexities and back, each version has one thing in common, the placement of the letters V above the W. It goes to show that if a logo works, almost a century can pass without the essence having to change.
The electro-digital age
In the digital age, a brand logo must be as legible on the front of a van as an app icon on a phone screen. The simplification of logos is a trend we have seen more of in recent years, so the move by Volkswagen didn’t come as much of a surprise. They were even one of the first in the automotive industry to make the change for their other models.
The main focus of Volkswagen’s chief designer Klaus Bischoff, according to Dezeen, was to make the W “float” to give the logo a new lightness. He said the new logo represents Volkswagen’s move into the digital era. “(the logo) will bring this new dawn into an electro-digital age onto the road sustainably, with a unique design,” he added.
Have you noticed this logo trend? What is coming next?
