It’s no secret that building a brand identity is not a simple process; rather it can be pretty complex. In order for brands to come up with elements that support a brand’s purpose, it has to have a firm grasp on what the brand is all about and one such element that helps to establish the identity of the brand is the logo.
Over the years, we have seen a lot of brands pay close attention to the design of their logo and while some have been average, there are some brands who have established their brand identity firmly in their target audience’s mind with their innovative logo design. And then there are those brands that have so flawlessly nailed the identity of their brand that only a specific target audience can even understand and interpret the design.
One such brand which comes to our mind is Tesla and its unique logo design with its hidden layer of creativity and elegance. While it is easy to assume the T-shaped logo stands for Tesla, there is a lot more to the design that what meets the eye.
Elon Musk who is the co-founder and CEO of Tesla inc. recently shed some light on Tesla’s logo design. “The “T is like a cross section of an electric motor,” Musk explained in a tweet last month.
So what is so unusual about that? While brands use symbolism to reflect the industry they are in such as coffee mug for a café or a fork for a restaurant; Tesla actually had a different approach towards its design. Instead of going with the same widely recognizable shape, it went deeper inside the product (cars) and decided to go ahead with an icon symbol which is lesser know – the electric motor.
Tesla’s brand and editorial guidelines back that up, stating that Tesla “believes in the future of transportation, as made possible by Tesla’s innovation.” And that while it aims to be accessible, “it is intelligent and does not speak to everyone.”
Through the design of the logo, the Tesla brand reflects what it’s all about: a perfect embodiment of innovation and intelligence
