Renault announces a new logo design, making it more accessible to the digital sphere

Groupe Renault, a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899, has announced the launch of a new logo and rebrand. The new logo is an updated and geometric version of its established diamond-shaped design, which has been in use since 1925.

Renault is known for its range of cars, vans and the previous production of trucks, tractors, tanks, buses, coaches, autorails and aircrafts. But not only is it recognisable for its products, it’s also boasted the same identifiable logo that’s existed for a century. “Who doesn’t immediately think of Renault when they see a diamond? And with good reason,” says the company in a video about the release.

Having embodied the diamond image since the 1920s, “it’s not about to change”, it states, with the new variation launched and only showing minor adjustments. This means that the black and white logo is now without any typography or wordmark, and features intertwining lines that make up the diamond shapes. All of which is easily accessible and adjustable for digital use on websites, apps and smartphones, as well as on screens inside the car.

“We felt it was time to change the logo, and give it values that would carry the brand further,” says Gilles Vidal, Renault design director, in the video. “The diamond shape is a very strong symbol, it hasn’t changed since 1925, so that’s a very strong icon, a recognisable element for the brand, very challenging to again make it evolve. This logo is a mix between heritage and projecting the brand into the future. It’s a mix of historical root values for the brand, and holding fresh and new values as well as for the future.”

The logo has been in the works for a few years now and the release coincides with the launch of Renaulution, a new strategic plan for the company that sees it head more into the digital sphere. “It made a lot of sense to launch that new logo at that precise moment. Now, it's going back to a flat design which is a thing of our times and yet, gives it movement through the interaction of two diamond shapes, in fact looping one into the other, to create again movement interaction, complementarily. So that’s all the interesting values we want to carry with this new design.”

The Renault 5 Prototype car is the first product to feature the logo and is set to launch in 2022. By 2024, all of Renault’s cars in the range will bare the logo.

More information about the company’s rebrand and launch can be found on the website, and the full-length video interview with Gilles can be viewed here.