Car Logos With Names

Symbols and elaborate images for car logos can be confusing. So many famous brands use the same animals or intricate images that may seem appealing at first but are actually so similar to each other that you can't tell one company apart from the other unless you're really an expert in the field.

How many auto brands do you know that have used a jungle cat or a horse or a hawk's wings in their trademark?

There're just too many to count.

So how can you create a design for your automobile company that is easy to remember and also sets you apart from the crowd?

Why not use your corporation name in the business mark?

How many of us confuse the Honda trademark with Hyundai's or Mini's with Bentley's?

But that won't happen if your car logos and names are the same.

Remember the Ford and BMW's business image or MG's and Nissan's? The only characteristic that makes them easier to remember is their company name in their brand mark.



But it's not really that easy to design a trademark with the corporation name. Since the only things that can make your car brand mark appealing are the fonts and colors, you need to make sure that you use the right ones to make your logo distinct and easy to remember.

What colors to use?

When using the corporation name in trademark, the rule is very simple. Use one solid color for the text and one solid color for the background. Text in silver color with a red or a dark blue background looks appealing but you can experiment with different colors as well. You can also use white colored text on a dark green background which will make your design identifiable from afar. Don't be afraid to use bright colored background but make sure you use the text color that complements the background instead of contrasting with it.

What kind of fonts to use?

Straight and big fonts may be easier to read from a distance but the font style that looks intricate and appealing to the customers and give your design a classic look are the curvier fonts. But make sure that the text is not too curvy that it loses its readability. You can even use the Times Roman font in italic effect or use some other professional font style with curvy effect to make sure that the text is readable and rounded at the same time.

Remember the ford logo? It may just be white text on a red background, but it's the curvy font style that sets it apart from the rest. Remember the Ford business mark or the smart car logo?

What shapes to use?

The vehicle business image has to be enclosed in a shape, of course. The shape that is most commonly used is a circle. You can use an oval, a loose square or even the superman diamond shape to enclose your design. But make sure that your chosen shape does not have too many sides that make the mark complicated.

Citroen Logo

Andre Citroen founded the company he named after himself, "Citroen", in 1919. The French company became the first mass automaker outside of America to have any mass market success, with simple designs which served the growing automobile market well. Also credited with the production of the worlds ever first front wheel drive car, the Citroen Traction Avant in 1934, Citroen has been a front leader in innovative and uncommon designs, although remaining efficient in producing mass market cars which sold well. The French based company, innovative in itself for being the first European mass market car manufacture, was later formed into the PSA Peugeot Citroen group, which has its headquarters in Paris.

It was common for automobile manufactures to switch production from cars to military hardware for the campaign in World War One, often switching back to automobile production after the world war had ceased. Andre Citroens story is slightly different, however; with the Frenchmen deciding to build cars post World War One, after he had no use for his factory after the war. Citroen, the man not the company, originally built military wear for France during the World War, but found himself with no business after the war had finished. With a factory in his possession, Citroen began to produce cars, with the newly designed (by Le Zebre) type A. The type A was the first production car by Citroen, and within its two year production life had outputted over twenty four thousand units. Originally selling for close to eight thousand francs, the price was lifted to twelve and a half thousand francs just one year later. With the number of units being produced, around one hundred per day, Citroen had established itself as the first European mass market car manufacture. 

In later years of the nineteen twenties, Citroen teamed up with the pioneer, Budd, an American engineer, who worked on stainless steel bodies for railroad cars originally, but then contracted to automakers to do the same. Many car manufactures of the time, including Citroen, received steel bodies which were manufactured by Edward Budd, with the Citroen steel bodied cars believed to be the first outside of America. 

  

Citroen believed heavily upon the promotion of the brand, with the iconic and large Eiffel Tower in Paris lit up with the word "CITROEN" between 1925 and 1934, a marketing method to epic promotions in its day. Citroen cars continued to sell well, although many other car producers began to switch and upgrade their body designs after switching from wood to steel, leaving Citroen was very basic and slightly dated designs. The low price of the cars ensured mass units were still sold, although the company began to experience losses. The development of the innovative Traction Avant, the first front wheel drive car, spurred the company onwards, with the succession of new models.

Land Rover Logo

The Land Rover Freelander is a compact SUV from the subsidiary of Tata Motors, the British Land Rover. The company is now producing the second generation model named the Freelander 2 or LR2. The latest edition of the Freelander is hitting the Middle East and North American markets.

The Rover Group conceptualized the original design of the Freelander in late 1980s after doing market researches that suggested the creation of compact off-roaders. The Rover Group was about to develop the Freelander project in early 1990s when they had a limited budget for its product development. To battle it out the Rover looked for a partner for the development of the Freelander. Their formal partner, the Honda has declined to join the project but came out with the similar Honda CR-V in 1997. With their failure to find a partner the Rover Group decided to go alone with the development of the Freelander that they named CB40 with their limited available resources. They come up with a unique suspension, transmission, and body construction. The Freelander was launched in 1997 after several years of development from their limited parts bin. In 1994, the BMW took over the operation of the Rover Group but not with the development of the Freelander.

The cost cutting done in the old Freelanders was retorted when the early Freelanders were found to be suffering from several inconsistencies such as clutch failure, head gaskets problem, and electrical problems. The new Freelander has seen a change in design and improvements in the problem areas of the past and this has accounted for the vehicle remaining on top when it comes to sale value. The Freelander was the best-selling 4x4 in Europe.

One notable feature of the Freelander was the hill descent control system that was first used in this model of the Land Rover. This system uses the abs to give an off road Traction Control system and to individually control the brakes while maintaining better driving control in off road terrains. The Freelander was out of the production line after its poor sales in 2006 in U.S. and Canada.

Kia Logo

The Kia motor company has the distinction of being South Korea's oldest car company. Kia did not start out as an automobile manufacturer at all. Kia actually began in 1944 as a manufacturer of steel tubing and bicycles. Originally called the Kyungsung Precision Industry it changed its name to Kia when it began producing motorized vehicles such as motorcycles, trucks and cars.

Today Kia Motors is a subsidiary of Hyundai KIA Automotive Grove and is South Korea's second largest automobile manufacturer. Its CEO is Chung Eui-sun and has its headquarters in Seoul, South Korea. Kia Motors also maintains a presence in the United States as Kia Motors America and on October 20, 2006 broke ground for its first United States assembly plant in West Point, Georgia. Kia Motors has enjoyed tremendous success on the European market and is currently the fast growing car company in the United Kingdom.

The name Kia was derived from the Sino-Korean word ki, which means to come out, and the word a which means Asia. Translated it means to arise or come out of Asia or rising out of Asia.

Starting in 1986 Kia entered a partnership with Ford to produce several Mazda based vehicles for sale in South Korea and to be exported into other countries.

Kia officially arrived in the United States in 1992 however; it would be 1994 before the first Kia's would be sold in the United States. The first ones were available at four dealerships in Portland, Oregon. The first Kia models to be sold on the United States were the Sephia to be followed shortly by the Sportage.

Kia suffered tremendous loses in 1997 as a part of the financial meltdown experienced by Asia during that time. The company was forced to file bankruptcy and was acquired by Hyundai Motor Company. Because Ford had owned a portion of Kia since 1986, it also tried to acquire the company however, Hyundai was able to outbid Ford and Ford lost all but it's previously owned interest in the company.

Today Kia Motors has reorganized and now offers vehicles through 640 dealerships throughout the United States. Kia has enjoyed a fair amount of success in the North American market and in 2008 recoded its 14th consecutive year of increased U.S. Market share.

Kia has enjoyed quite a bit of success in the European market as well. It began importing cars to Europe in 1991. The Pride would be the first model to be offered there and proved quite popular with buyers. Kia maintains a presence in Europe as well. The Kia Motors Europe group is the European sales and marketing division of KIA Motors Corporation. It is now located adjacent to the Messe in Frankfurt, Germany.

Kia Motors has been in the European market for just over 16 years. Kia has certainly come a long way since its first offering of just one model. Today, Kia has expanded through midsize and full size sedans to the larger SUV's. The Sportage, Kia's SUV has been popular across Europe since its launch and with the introduction of the Sedona, the cheapest full-size people carrier in the United Kingdom, it is difficult to image a slowdown for Kia anytime in the near future.

Car Logos With Wings

The message that any car business trademark wants to convey to its customers is one of speed, dependability, strength and style. Since cars are not only a means of communication anymore but also a symbol of class, style and advancing technology, the faster and stylish they are, the more popular they will be. Hence the same features of style, speed and high quality should be reflected in a car logo as well.

The brand mark of a car corporation should be simple enough to be memorable and distinct enough to be differentiated from others.

Below mentioned are some of ideas for your car business image.

Use animal attributes to symbolize your company features:

A car company logo should portray speed, reliability and power. The animals that are perfect to portray that message to the viewers are horses, cheetahs, bears, bulls and eagles because of their grace, strength and intimidating personality. You can use a sprinting horse to signify grace, speed and steadiness or you can use a leaping leopard to represent speed and style. You can also use an eagle's wings in your brand mark to symbolize speed and sharp sightedness or a raging bull to represent competitiveness and strength.

Use the corporation name within a ring like structure:

The most famous trend in car trademarks is the use of rings. The ring is a symbolization of car wheels and also adds an air of simplicity to the design which is why it is so popular. Since this shape is so flexible, it can be used in a variety of styles. For example you can use the corporation name or initial in a ring or you can put a lot of rings together or within each other creatively to symbolize your brand. You can also add symbols that signify speed and motion in your ring like structure for example; you can add a thunderbolt in the ring or wings of a hawk around the ring to depict speed. You can also use ovals or mandala like patterns to make your car logos distinct from others.

Use abstracts of speed and strength in the design:

Using abstracts in car firm images is another rising trend. Abstract effects give a subtle feel of the company features that makes the image interesting and eye catching. You can use abstracts of speed and style in your design for example; you can use the company initial or a car illustration with a few horizontal lines to represent speed or use a ribbon effect to symbolize style.