In Brief BY Armin

Big Wings, Tiny Type

Chrysler New Logo

I’m treating this as an In Brief because there isn’t much to go by and details are still sketchy. Not to mention that the available images look like roadkill. As many of you may have caught, Chrysler announced a bunch of things this past week in relation to their emerging from the bottom of the auto industry barrel — our blogging colleagues at idsgn have put together something more comprehensive than I was willing to on this Friday morning. On their web site, Chrysler has made available a lot of PDFs covering their Plan, among them is a PDF on the brand going forward, showing a new logo. First, my god, what an abominate design on those PDFs, really embarrassing. Second, the new logo might just as well say “CHOCOLATE” in there because the ratio of wings to type is ridiculously high. And I really don’t foresee these wings, which look average at best, building enough graphic equity to come to signify Chrysler, especially in an industry where the big players have some of the most instantly recognizable logos. Good luck fellas!

Thanks to David Holm for first tip.

DATE: Nov.06.2009CATEGORY: In Brief 68 COMMENTS

Comments › Jump to Most Recent

Jon Swerens’s comment is:

Wait ... that's not for the next "Batman" movie?

On Nov.06.2009 at 09:14 AM

Nathan’s comment is:

While agreeing that this is indeed a hideous rendition for a large corporation such as Chrysler, I have to note that the type in the old "wings" logo was barely visible as well. It carried the seal that was the original Chrysler logo, but unless you look closely, the text is nigh unreadable.

Here's to hoping this isn't in the final rounds of revision!

On Nov.06.2009 at 09:23 AM

Matthew’s comment is:

Not what I would expect from Chrystler. Not sure what I would expect, but upon seeing this, it's a little lackluster. Especially since, like you said, there are so many others with an instantly recognizable logo. I guess in time we'll come to recognize this as a Chrystler logo, but for now it's not doing them much justice.

As for Nathan's comment about the type on the original being almost unreadable, it's a good point, but he also said that they used the seal, which was a very recognizable item. I think in a failing economy, the last thing they needed was a new logo that made their name almost disappear.

On Nov.06.2009 at 09:43 AM

Nick Irwin’s comment is:

so your telling me they are spending more time on "reinventing" their brand instead of redesigning their vehicles #companyfail

On Nov.06.2009 at 09:45 AM

Nick’s comment is:

I don't even know what to say about those PDFs... they sorta of say everything there needs to be said about the state of the American auto industry. But I digress.

This is a hood ornament essentially. So, as a hood ornament, I dont mind it. The wings are nicely executed and I'm sure they would look just fine on the actual hood and at 60 MPH, it doesn't really matter if it can read or not. However! The problem is this, of course, this is being used as a brandmark on top of a hood ornament and nothing works about it as a brandmark. It's clunky, difficult to reproduce and as mentioned multiple times before unbearably impossible to read.

Not impressed...

On Nov.06.2009 at 09:52 AM

Nate B’s comment is:

I thought April Fool's Day was in April?

On Nov.06.2009 at 09:57 AM

Hearing Aids’s comment is:

That's an odd icon, I thought that logos where supposed to be identifiable not smushed to a font that no one can make out.

On Nov.06.2009 at 10:02 AM

Wesley F’s comment is:

Aston Martin, anyone?

It's the first thing I thought of, which probably isn't good for Chrysler.

On Nov.06.2009 at 10:03 AM

Rob O.’s comment is:

As much as the rest of the company needed a bailout, apparently so does the marketing department. And perhaps this is some indication of why their automotive designs fail to inspire... If they were going for reinvention, they came up terribly short.

On Nov.06.2009 at 10:04 AM

Andrew’s comment is:

It looks like they have 2 really different versions of the logo.

Check page 6 of the PDF (or the top of this post) and it's a dull and the text is almost totally unreadable.

But on previous pages in the header it's high contrast, with totally different placements of the gradients. Looks much more 'metallic' and looks a lot more polished than the one on page 6. weird.

On Nov.06.2009 at 10:05 AM

ScottyM’s comment is:

And the Brand New winner for worst logo design of 2009 ...

Ladies and Gentlemen, put your hands together for ...

On Nov.06.2009 at 10:07 AM

Alex’s comment is:

So they want to be Bentley now ? Kinda late for that.

On Nov.06.2009 at 10:17 AM

Oliver’s comment is:

Oy vey. That PDF was very painful. It always amazes me that huge companies like this hire second rate branding firms to do their work. I guess bad taste begets bad taste.

This was the same company the called on it's employees to rebrand itself not too long ago, no? Or am I thinking of a different auto maker. The only thing worse than selecting a bad identity is selecting multiple bad identities and changing them up before they have a chance to become recognizable.

Good luck indeed.

On Nov.06.2009 at 10:22 AM

Joseph Maguire’s comment is:

They pretty much made chrysler unreadable at any scaled size which basically means one of two things. Fiat is trying to kill off the brand in a few steps so that the wings come as part of a larger plan to probably hypothetically integrate into the fiat parent brand... what do you think of that because if Chrysler gets any smaller all you have is wings.. and wings can easily integrate with an Italian round ball logo. :)

On Nov.06.2009 at 10:53 AM

Joseph Maguire’s comment is:

Or two they just decided to push a logo that's a mess forward without much forethought :)

On Nov.06.2009 at 10:54 AM

Rita’s comment is:

Not that I'm impressed but in the PDF presentation you can take a glimpse of the future vision of the brand and get the "why's" of this choice.

On Nov.06.2009 at 11:01 AM

jonathan’s comment is:

Wow... that was one shitty pitch. Nothing cohesive whatsoever.

What did we learn here?
1. Include pics of kids
2. Make sure car's reflection doesn't match car
3. Bad French street-art
4. New car finds pathway to moon
5. Plan to copy Lancia cars
6. Make graphs out of cool architecture
7. Overlay guy with creepy eyes on last slide

Can't wait to see how this develops!

On Nov.06.2009 at 11:01 AM

Great Smoky’s comment is:

The best branding and presentation a social-engineering government committee can cook up.

Laissez faire, laissez faire... another case made, in (un)striking visual form, for separation of economy and state.

On Nov.06.2009 at 11:05 AM

Nick’s comment is:

Jonathan mentioned it too, but it's worth pointing out agin how hilarious the mismatched reflections are on page 3. Was that intentional somehow?

On Nov.06.2009 at 11:10 AM

Chris’s comment is:

Logo is ridiculous, I could only hope they just use the type in small sizes. The Emblem is stretched and shouts air force/team america.

PDF is quite obviously created in Powerpoint. You can even see they have the document open in their screenshot on page 29. It's a disjointed school project, and it barely makes the grade.

On Nov.06.2009 at 11:17 AM

olumi_day’s comment is:

I don't think the new logo is as hideous as everyone's making it out to be... however, that PDF is gold baby, gold!

On Nov.06.2009 at 11:34 AM

Tweeter’s comment is:

Awesome! They're bringing the Thunderbird back... oh, wait... I think that says Chrysler.

On Nov.06.2009 at 11:36 AM

Mark’s comment is:

That PDF must have been created for internal use.

I see PDF's like that all the time at my company. When someone in marketing or biz dev creates a slideshow>PDF for an internal meeting. But then how did it make it out??

On Nov.06.2009 at 11:41 AM

Skylar’s comment is:

@Mark, the slide show was presented at Chrysler's massive 7-hour press conference on Wednesday, which outlined their 5-year recovery plan. The company posted all of their slide shows from the event at:

http://www.chryslergroupllc.com/business

On Nov.06.2009 at 11:54 AM

Katherine’s comment is:

Hey Chrysler... does Illustration Works know you are stealing their images without paying?

On Nov.06.2009 at 12:33 PM

Robin’s comment is:

I'm sure somebody said "This looks terrible!" and a supervisor replied "It's fine".

PS - I liked the the use of Arial (plain, bold and italic).

On Nov.06.2009 at 12:54 PM

Dan’s comment is:

I like it from the standpoint that the name is reduced to obscurity. I mean really, who the fuck wants to buy a "Chrysler" nowadays? One of the biggest flaws with this brand, among other things, is the name.

On Nov.06.2009 at 01:15 PM

JoshuaNTaylor’s comment is:

I have to point out that in page 23 of the branding PDF they lay out the cars and who they are trying to appeal to. I think that is the big problem. Who in their right mind thinks that a "trend setter" wants to drive a PT Cruiser. The others aren't much better.

On Nov.06.2009 at 02:38 PM

Andrew Keir’s comment is:

As has been said this must be meant for internal use only or something, they're too bad to be a professional presentation.

On Nov.06.2009 at 02:38 PM

Alisha’s comment is:

It seems that eventually they plan to be recognized just by the actual form of the wings, with no accompaniment of text (like how Chevy's logo used to have "Chevrolet" inside, but now they only use the classic bow tie form). Which isn't a bad move... I think this is just possibly a transitional logo heading towards one without text.

I almost like the new silhouette and how they've blended the sections into one general wing shape. That said, I actually get a Bentley vibe from it... which does make the logo create a more prestigious brand for Chrysler if that's what they're going for.

On the other hand, I do agree with what someone said earlier: it looks more appropriate for the Air Force or something.

On Nov.06.2009 at 03:33 PM

georgia boy’s comment is:

if chrysler gets a logo change, why couldn't be thet original 5-star logo they introduced as "the new chrysler" when they broke off from dainler?

On Nov.06.2009 at 04:16 PM

BoredAtWork’s comment is:

That looks like something a Klingon would kill you with.

On Nov.06.2009 at 04:47 PM

L.Fer’s comment is:

@Wesley F Yes.. I totally saw Aston Martin all over.

The new logo seems a big fail, I understand they are trying to renew the company's image, but using almost impossible to read text? seriously?

It actually feels more like an air-force themed movie logo, the reflection of the old logo wasn't a bad idea, after all they have a long history on the automotive industry, but it was poorly executed.

I'm not even gonna talk about those PDF's.. I thought it was a joke.

On Nov.06.2009 at 05:35 PM

Dcos’s comment is:

I really can't believe that these PDFs were produced by, let alone distributed by, any sort of professionals. I have seen far better work from disinterested students countless times. Seriously unbelievable. I almost feel sorry for these guys. Almost.

On Nov.06.2009 at 05:55 PM

Mog’s comment is:

Alisha said:

"It seems that eventually they plan to be recognized just by the actual form of the wings, with no accompaniment of text (like how Chevy's logo used to have "Chevrolet" inside, but now they only use the classic bow tie form). Which isn't a bad move... I think this is just possibly a transitional logo heading towards one without text."

Except that...the "wing" is pretty much just a chrome line. Lots of vehicle grilles have chrome lines. I dare say most of them do, in fact.

It's not going to be very recognizable.

But maybe that's the point. Ever notice how Hyundai/Kia luxury cars never have a logo on the front?

On Nov.06.2009 at 07:33 PM

gus’s comment is:

ON the PDF:

See page 4:

"My kids", your kids? Wtf who the F cares about kids? we want some logo goodies!!

On Nov.06.2009 at 08:21 PM

Sab_78’s comment is:

One question:

what the hell is that?

Oh my God...

On Nov.06.2009 at 08:34 PM

Lance K Muller’s comment is:

Seriously? I think that the designers of this "new" logo has taken their "inspiration" from Aston Martin, Mini, Bentley? Come on folks, I hope they can do better... cause having this on a grille can suck. Do car companies in the US not have access to good design houses?

On Nov.06.2009 at 11:16 PM

Lance K Muller’s comment is:

But having said that... i love the avant-garde feel too it... very retro... very 1920s feel to it... which I personally think is cool

On Nov.06.2009 at 11:18 PM

Ivan’s comment is:

the PDF's are horrendous. Seems like a convert from MS PowerPoint. If they paid more than 100 bucks for this....that's a highway robbery

On Nov.07.2009 at 04:51 AM

Dirk’s comment is:

Chrysler used to have some of the nicest-looking cars on the road. Now they are SO ugly. They don't deserve a renewal.

Go away Chrysler, and never come back.

On Nov.07.2009 at 05:11 AM

Monk’s comment is:

Maybe Chrysler deserves to be obsolete. We don't need more mediocre cars on the road. Obviously they don't know what they are doing, let alone pick the better logo for their new branding. The PDF screams "bad powerpoint" Let them die... HAHAHAHAH (evil roar)

On Nov.07.2009 at 01:12 PM

Johs’s comment is:

I like the graph on page 34 - well, from now on it'll only go up! Ha...

On Nov.07.2009 at 01:54 PM

Steve’s comment is:

Such a typical PowerPoint presentation from corporate America. They ALWAYS look really bad! This one's no exception. When I first saw the new branding, i thought somebody had improperly scaled it on the web (making it squished), but no.. it's just that ridiculous!

On Nov.07.2009 at 02:06 PM

Fredrik’s comment is:

Some more interesting thoughts on this over on idsgn: http://www.idsgn.org/posts/new-wings-for-chrysler/

On Nov.07.2009 at 03:25 PM

Nate’s comment is:

I wish Chrysler would just stop fighting evolution and fade away like they probably should have in 1983. What's next, the reintroduction of the K car?

On Nov.07.2009 at 11:26 PM

RiseGroobie’s comment is:

I think this "logo" is very successful. It screams "cheap and lazy"...very accuratley representing the brand.

On Nov.08.2009 at 02:21 AM

bottoarts’s comment is:

I don't envy the folks at Chrysler, and I wonder how honest this result is for Chrysler. If they're embarrassed by where their brand currently stands, then the mark reflects that. If they're wanting the brand to fade away, like some folks have requested in this thread, then the mark is on target.

Can a brand as damaged as Chrysler really pull off a re-brand? Damned if you do, damned if you don't. Sadly, this end result is just "damn."

On Nov.08.2009 at 10:09 AM

Chris Dixon’s comment is:

Is “extrovertive” even a word?

On Nov.08.2009 at 04:40 PM

Steve Ross’s comment is:

Nothing says "inspired" and "innovative" like using PowerPoint to export your branding PDF.

On Nov.08.2009 at 06:18 PM

Keith’s comment is:

More auto industry tripe. These guys are still drinking their own kool-aid.

On Nov.09.2009 at 08:10 AM

Ainsley’s comment is:

um, what? I've put together far better PPT presentations than that in the 5 minutes before class.

On Nov.09.2009 at 11:15 AM

Mambo’s comment is:

I think this is very indicative of the fumbling direction that the company is in; A few attempts at 'doing what the other guy is doing' and paying no mind to things like how cheap it all feels, or perceived value of the brand or products.

Did they dump their AOR? or is it a lack of direction and backbone (on both sides.)

The slide comparing the '09 Chrysler Product to the '05 Lancia. Kinda like saying "See, we can be almost as good as you were 4 years ago.."

The unintentional sloppiness of this is appalling.

On Nov.10.2009 at 11:16 AM

Levinson Axelrod’s comment is:

On the old logo the seal was with the wings, making it recognizable as the seal was of a large enough ratio. It seems like the kept the amount of wing to not wing but forgot to make the not wing anything but tiny glared out text.

On Nov.10.2009 at 11:43 AM

Todd Zakk’s comment is:

I thought Chrysler reintroduced the pentastar logo in 2006, yet it was never used. This logo so far looks weird, they font is too tiny.

On Nov.10.2009 at 12:37 PM

Mark’s comment is:

blegh.

I hate it.

It looks WAY TOO abstract to look like wings, too little put into this logo.

This makes the old wings look fabulous.

seriously it look like it was flattened with a steamroller for crying out loud!

On Nov.10.2009 at 07:05 PM

David’s comment is:

while it could be much better, esp with the wings cut and design... it dosent like AS bad as the post leads on when you see a HQ pic of the new logo;

http://blog.chryslergroupllc.com/binaryFiles/Image/New%20logo%20Cropped.jpg

On Nov.10.2009 at 08:31 PM

Xav’s comment is:

When it comes to the automotive industry the badge is everything. You'd have thought they'd come up with something more original, readable and most of all, recognisable than this...

This just doesn't look like anything. At least their pentastar logo was recognisable but this looks like nothing at all.

On Nov.11.2009 at 01:30 AM

Xav’s comment is:

Oh and one last thing. Just the fact that Chrysler have to completely change their badge is not a good sign at all. As I said, the badge is everything and car manufacturers are, as a rule, very reluctant to modify it. And when they do it's always very subtle, see Audi for ex.

Did Ferrari or BMW ever modify their badge in the last 40 years? Of course not. To go through with a complete overhaul like this, screams desperation to me.

On Nov.11.2009 at 01:39 AM

Danae’s comment is:

wow. that PDF is just laughable not to mention plain weird, I feel like I'm living in the Twilight Zone.

On Nov.11.2009 at 09:59 AM

Levinson Axelrod’s comment is:

I'm just confused.

On Nov.11.2009 at 02:40 PM

Larry’s comment is:

It's exactly what I would expect from our Detroit auto makers. Nothing has changed with them. They still are doing business as usual with the same suits coming out of retirement that got the company in this position in the first place. A bunch of older white men with ego's the size of mountains stuck in proven not to work bureaucratic system. If I were in charge of the marketing and design departments, I would demand that all of the creative departments move to a loft away from the headquarters in an environment that bled creativity. And then I would recruit the best design, brand marketing and advertising talent from around the globe. Who are the people that turned Apple around? I want them. It's really quite simple. But Detroit refuses to rebuild the company from the ground up. That's why American cars suck. And the unions, I don't even want to go there.

On Nov.11.2009 at 08:32 PM

Johnny Socko’s comment is:

Wow, these comments reflect a lot of misinformation, or at least misunderstanding. I do not own, or intend to own, a Chrysler product, but let's clarify a few things:

1. This is the badge that will [purportedly] appear on Chrysler-brand vehicles. The actual logo for Chrysler Corporation is and will remain the "Penta-star" mentioned above.

2. It's hard to claim that a wing emblem is somehow out-of-character for Chrysler, when their CURRENT badge is a wing! You might hate the execution, but the concept is not exactly out of the blue.

3. U.S. automakers have indeed dug their own grave to a large extent. But in Chrysler's specific case, the business decisions being mocked in this forum have been made by the company's new EUROPEAN owners & executives. And in the 1990's, Chrysler was riding high on a trend of design innovation and quality before the Daimler takeover reversed it all with heavy-handed (and inept) management.

4. Considering the dire straits Chrysler is in now, I actually think Mr. Marchionne's recovery plan is as good as can reasonably be expected, given the timeframe they're talking about.