In a futile bid to distract us from the controversial growth of its iconic kidney grilles that debuted on the Concept i4, BMW took to launching a revision of its roundel logo with a transparent background.
The new roundel loses the black background on the outside ring and leaves it transparent. Furthermore, the colour scheme on the new roundel is flat without shading for that 3D effect.
Oh, and they won’t be using the new design on any of their new production models.
That’s right, instead BMW has targeted the new logo firmly for its digital presence. The transparent roundel is for everything and anything related to the brand that isn’t an actual vehicle.
You’ll find the badge on all corporate communications, designs at events, motor show booths and of course media branding. The carmaker expects the transition for its digital logo to be fully integrated into all non-vehicular aspects by the end of May 2021.
Would we have seen it at BMW’s booth at the recently cancelled Geneva Motor Show? Well, we’ll never know now.
As for all new production BMW models, you can expect the status quo to remain. That’s the current logo, complete with black ring and 3D shading on the letters.
BMW claims the new logo is “better-suited to the digital age” as the flat, two-dimensional design “conveys openness and clarity.” Whatever you say Munich, just keep offering manuals with your M models and we’ll pretend none of this ever happened.
Carmakers do switch things up a little with their logos every once in a while. In fact, as you may remember Proton is the latest to revamp its logo with plenty of inspiration from the Thundercats. The only difference is that most new logos do make it to the production cars as well. But hey, it’s the digital age.