JKR

New logos for old brands inevitably get a lot of flack – they’re easy targets. In the interests of wanting to avoid being seen as too much of a smart-arse I normally resist the temptation to join in. But I think the new Peugeot logo is worth talking about because it is a good example of how the design process can incrementally polish away a brand’s marque until the end result stops expressing the original point. The previous Peugeot mascot was no oil painting, but it did look broadly like a lion, with the serpent tongue and flat profile evoking a medieval heraldic emblem. The new one has chubby paws and looks a long way from the origins of the 1850 original (Peugeot began by making saws, and the lion was intended to evoke “the toughness of the teeth, the flexibility of the blade, and the speed of the cut”). So down the years the lion mutated as follows:

And now we have a generic 3-D rendered beast, literally de-clawed of his vitality (but, drearily, aligned with sibling brand Citroen). All in all, it’s easy to criticise, but more importantly this case study acts as a warning to all of us of the pitfalls of evolving a brand’s equities until the original intention becomes lost.

Still, the new logo will look at home on the new electric iOn….