Typophile - New Daimler logo - Comments

I really adore the work of

poms — Thu, 3 Apr 2008 13:55:09 -0700

I really adore the work of underware, that’s why i’m shocked this time.
Didn’t they get a proper briefing or why is the workmark so ponderous, so “vin ordinaire”, “so … not classy”. Maybe i’m totally wrong and Daimler will develop and sell new products, far from being a motorvehicle, with a new philosophy …

You’re folks getting deep with the typedesign, but i cannot, the wordmark just allows me to look at the overall appearance …

PS
The wordmark bites Corporate S on the signboard. Hehe, and it works really good together with the moustache of the CEO, damn right.

The overly expressive leg of

Hiroshige — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 11:02:31 -0700

The overly expressive leg of the R contrasts with the other more formal elements of the letter. It looks like someone just took a swash and stuck it under a P.

So, in my head (which is never a safe place) when reading the word I have to go back over the last two letters, and DAIMLER becomes DAIMLEP-ER.

If the intent of the wordmark was impart something along the lines of solid-structured-stylish, I think the R’s contrasting elements undermine the solid-structured part... and unbalance the wordmark.

@ the D looks a bit lonely

microspective — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:44:49 -0700

@ the D looks a bit lonely out in front

Only at the baseline, to my eyes. If you look at the whole (holes?!), it’s spaced pretty well. It’s unquestionably a difficult set of caps to kern!

It does appear to float away

jupiterboy — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:20:57 -0700

It does appear to float away a bit. I was thinking about starting a thread to see if anyone can post a string of caps that they feel is perfectly letter spaced—without flaw.

imho, not great, not

Ch — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 09:13:26 -0700

imho, not great, not terrible. feh. the L and R are interesting, but am i the only one who thinks the D looks a bit lonely out in front ?

>That very narrow “L”

William Berkson — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 05:27:11 -0700

>That very narrow “L” combined with the splayed “M” and the extended lef of the “R” give it unusual proportions, but in a way that works for me.

Thinking about this more, my unease about it is that the way in which it is distinctive is that it is a bit playful. If it were for a toy company, it would be fine. I just don’t think it suits the brand. I predict that it will be changed within a few years.

>Quite uninspired. And some

Stefan Seifert — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:28:23 -0700

>Quite uninspired. And some of the “first ideas” on photo look awful.

I agree with this.

Stefan

The R was obviously designed

loremipsum — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 04:23:02 -0700

The R was obviously designed to work well with their CEO’s moustache :-)
3rd photo @ www.underware.nl/site2/index.php3?id1=underware&id2=case-studies&id3=02

I like the large bowl on the

Chipman223 — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:11:37 -0700

I like the large bowl on the R, but find the base of the L to be a little stubby. I think the simplicity suits the company well.

“It is heavier where we

loremipsum — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:50:21 -0700

“It is heavier where we are so used to seeing a very high-contrast light stroke for luxury anything.”
Maybe we could add rounded (not sharp) serifs that give it a book look.

The fact is, Daimler is not luxury only.
Although they have Maybach,
http://www.maybach-manufaktur.com/index.php
they also make trucks and these mini-vehicles:
www.smart.com

It is heavier where we are

jupiterboy — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 08:10:26 -0700

It is heavier where we are so used to seeing a very high-contrast light stroke for luxury anything. The work is very true to the Underware style. It will be fun to see what happens to it and how it gets handled.

I actually find it rather

Thomas Phinney — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:45:09 -0700

I actually find it rather distinctive, but I guess I spend a lot of time looking at book typefaces. That very narrow “L” combined with the splayed “M” and the extended lef of the “R” give it unusual proportions, but in a way that works for me.

Cheers,

Chris, you’ve got a good

William Berkson — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:43:49 -0700

Chris, you’ve got a good point about its not being distinctive. However, they do have the famous three spoked wheel for Mercedes-Benz. Lorem points out that this is for more than the cars, so, yes, that is a telling criticism.

Chris, William, it’s not a

loremipsum — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 07:21:21 -0700

Chris, William, it’s not a logo for a car. Daimler AG (uses Corporate S typeface) is actually parent company that incorporates Mercedes-Benz (uses Corporate A), Daimler Trucks, but also Daimler Financial Services (formerly DaimlerChrysler bank, using Corporate E). Anyway, as Chris pointed out, it is undistinctive, IMHO does not work that well with former elements of identity, and for the money...well, quite poor. DaimlerChrysler identity including logo, Corporate typeface trilogy and design principles was really great and very sophisticated. This one is not. Maybe balanced, sober or whatsoever, but neither beautiful & balanced, nor beautifully sober, nor outstanding or memorable.

Frankly, although the

dezcom — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 06:36:38 -0700

Frankly, although the lettering is quite lovely, I find it to be a non-identifier. I don’t see it as distinctive enough to act as a logo. It just looks like a word set in a traditional looking typeface. The typeface does not seem to suit the company, either. It may make a lovely titling face for a book but I can’t imagine it cast in metal and chrome on a car. If this is a logo, it should be more evocative of the company and the products instead of just blending into the world of book typography.

ChrisL

New Daimler logo

ncaleffi — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 05:15:19 -0700

Underware, the Dutch graphic studio, has designed the new Daimler-Benz logo. A great typography result, since it is all made by letters:

http://www.underware.nl/site2/index.php3?id1=underware&id2=case-studies&...