It is not every day that you have the opportunity to modernize a brand as iconic as Porsche. But the German sports car manufacturer's 75th birthday was the ideal starting point for a new era. Together, we embarked on a journey to recharge the brand and to shape its future.
Porsche always had and has its own way of showing up in the world. With the new brand design, we wanted to create something that is even more powerful, more iconic. A design that makes the brand purpose “driven by dreams” more visible, supports the strategic positioning, and increases the brand’s attractiveness. And a design that is flexible, recognizable, and, of course, suitable for digital display.
Better apart: wordmark and crest
Porsche’s crest and wordmark are the brand’s most distinctive symbols and central elements of its
presence. In the new brand design, just like on the actual car, we use those items separately.
The iconic wordmark is now the centerpiece and the baseline element of the Porsche communication. We modernized it cautiously, making it easier to use, better scalable and more legible. Using the wordmark on its own creates great flexibility and avoids double branding.
The crest was revived in a 3-year process by Porsche in-house. At MetaDesign we added the final touch, making the crest fit for usage in both analogue and digital media. We only use the crest to provide a haptic experience, either as a three-dimensional object or in a refined format.
An expressive and flexible layout
The new layout system follows simple rules that allow a high degree of flexibility in design expression. We use this system to implement the design principles across all media. The iconic wordmark, calm and precise typography, expressive images, and model lettering – they work together to create the unmistakable, luxurious Porsche look.
The refined wordmark is the determining factor of the whole layout system. Its size defines distances and spaces between elements, the type area, and the typesetting grid.
Unified in tension
We identified “tension” as the ever-present, overarching idea of reconciling the contradictions that characterize the Porsche brand. Tension builds connections–from the past into the future–to create a recognizable and memorable brand expression. It is this tension that we convey in the Porsche design philosophy and design principles.
Driven by Dreams
Porsche started with a dream. A dream of a car that was not yet on the road. A dream to advance, aspire and envision everything that could be. The realization of this dream is the starting point for the Porsche brand philosophy. It defines what makes the brand unique and distinguishable, and it establishes Porsche as an icon of modern luxury. And it is this dream, this realization that we continue in the new brand design. A design driven by dreams.