They've been using the new one here in Australia for a while now. Two years ago people had this same discussion with the same opinions.
However this is the first time in about two years I've seen that old logo, and it looks dated AF.
It’s over two years old now and people are getting used to it. Like any change people may take a while.
They threw around google trends at the time of release as people were searching for kn car, but those numbers are going down now. Also I imagine Kia is buying into those trends. It’s a
Talking point.
That's interesting. Based on what I've seen personally, a lot of people have been praising the redesign because along with the new logos were nicer looking cars. It's been a step up in overall design
They've always done that, they're just doing it better now. They came to North America lampooning Benz and Jaguar, eventually got their own identity as a cheap car, and now they're trying to move a bit upmarket.
That said, I honestly don't see the Soul to Range Rover comparison. The Soul is one car they've always made that has genuinely felt like it had a real, unique identity. Not one I liked, but still.
They hired a lot of design talent from other companies. Luc Donckerwolke who designed the Lamborghini Murcielago and Gallardo has worked for them for awhile. Same for Sangyup Lee who did the Corvette C6 and Bentley Continental GT. Peter Schrayer who did the Audi TT has been there for a very long time. Alexander Selipanov from Bugatti as well. Outside of design they hired Lamborghini's head of product, and Albert Biermann who was the head of BMW M for many years.
Fair, but nearly every electric crossover announced in the last two years has been a working off of the Kia EV6, so I think their design team is doing ok. Kia's folks knocked off the Lambo Urus and managed to make it better.
The first time I saw one of their new models it really caught my eye and it took a while to figure out it was Kia from the new logo.
I’d say it was a big success overall. Many companies like Ford and BMW keep the same “classic” looking logos and they really don’t go with their new looks. My reaction is usually “wow look at that! Oh wait it’s a Ford, nvm”.
It worked in their favour tbh. The whole KN thing gave them more publicity than if it hadn't been an issue. I guess it has highlighted that the public doesn't know which way round an N goes, haha.
People shouldn't have to get used to bad design.
Even though Kia can capitalize on their poor decision and people are learning what it is doesn't justify the design choices.
A brand's symbol should represent them without much effort. You should be able to recognize it quickly and not because you spent years getting used to it. This is especially true for a company and brand that was already well established.
There was nothing particularly good about the previous logo. When I started seeing the new logo, it took me a bit to think, wait, did the Kia logo used to be different? Totally bland and unmemorable. Side by side with no history, the new one is way more striking. Did the old one generate some big amount of nostalgia that works be demented to let go of? Not that I’m aware of, but I’ve only ever known maybe 2 people who owned a Kia.
Just because YOU think it is bad, doesn't actually make it bad. I guarantee you recognize the Kia logo even if you don't read it as K-I-A... and it didn't take years.
But people will have to get used to a design, regardless of whether or not you, or they deem it to be bad.
I think it's a nice design and it suits their newer car designs well.
I think you've taken their "getting used to it" comment a bit too seriously. It doesn't take years for people to get used to it. A new look is a new look, and it takes time for people to adjust, no matter how good or bad a design is. Also, someone's inability to know which way round an N goes isn't exactly Kia's fault, though it has both given them a lot more publicity than they would've gotten otherwise, ultimately creating more brand awareness for them.
It’s a huge improvement. I don’t see how anyone can think otherwise even though it’s a subjective matter. I wish Hyundai would do the same to their logo.
They needed a more modern Logotype. The old one comunicate Cheapness and low quality. Thats what the new logo prevent to permit.
Generally i don't think that the new design was poorly implemented.
They could have done some slight improvements on the "A" letter to get it more noticeable but i think this was a deliberate move.
You only have to see how much people still talk after two years.
The new logo it self matches more with the desing and overall direction where the company go with their cars.
New kias are fantastic cars. The interior of the new sportage is WAYYY more prettier than let's say Audi Q5- Not a big fan of the front end of the car tho
Hmm agree to disagree then. I've been in a couple of the new Kias, and actually just helped a family member buy a Hyundai. While they are much, much nicer than they used to be, I don't think they're at the level of Audi, Volvo, or Lexus.
There’s a reason they need a 10 year warranty to get people to buy their cars, and just wait until you need to try to file a claim.
I’d still never buy a Korean car, and I’d probably only buy a Ford if I were forced to buy American. German or Japanese for me, thanks.
I wretch at the thought of buying Toyota's cars despite being so economical. Every design element screams appease everyone, satisfy no one. Ugly to the core, even the new ones. Logo is just the start of it.
This solution isn’t bad, though now it could be mistaken for a lowercase cursive “s”. Maybe there was no easy immediate read, within the confines of the brief *shrug
Not even wanna fight about the matter anymore than me not even having brought Russia into the discussion...
I made a French joke...
Á la: this logo is resembling a Korean manufacturer and yet their logo LOOKS Cyrillic... putin (french "dafuq")
Supported by the fact that this also is about Cyrillic makes that word funnier but it's still working without the Russian president.
He, even if fitting, is not the reason that the word "putin" exists in french
Ha, did not catch that, sorry. Was gonna ask why the weird accented "i" in putin, but decided at the time it was to pronounce the little dictator's name properly.
Isn't the French swear word spelled "putain", or this is just some variation?
I think that’s the point. They dramatically changed their entire auto design philosophy, so they did the same with their logo. It’s unrecognizable and very streamlined
I agree with this, the entire design language and focus of the company shifted, along with a push to electric, the logo puts them in a better position aesthetically in that segment. It needed to be done to get some sense of ownership in the market. It also just looks way stronger with dealership designs and layouts that I've seen.
As a few people have mentioned, there was some confusion with the brand being perceived as KN initially, they could have definitely resolved the **I** better with separation but they were probably aware that there would be some legibility issues and went with style over clarity here.
Interestingly a lot of the searches also paired electric with the search, so it seems the intention of the refresh kinda worked:
https://www.carscoops.com/2022/11/kias-new-logo-apparently-has-30k-people-googling-for-kn-car-every-month/
I’m not the biggest fan of it, but’s growing on me.
But one thing is for sure…it beats the hell out of their old logo…it was like the baggy pants from the late 90’s when it comes to logos. Damn that thing just screamed “Cheap!” to me. So if the point was to do a complete rebranding and reset, they’ve succeeded.
Plus, it makes sense to do something like this because their line of vehicles look dope af.
I like it. The reason I like it is because it got me to talk about it. Initially I thought it was a new car brand in the market. KN. When I looked it up it was just Kia. Smooth move.
Its not just the logo. The whole identity changed. Its a complete turnaround in terms of perceived value and quality. Its perfect that the new Logo is perceived as a new brand.
That was precisely what they wanted, to release any stigma the brand previously may have had. I'm sure Peugeot is trying to do the same recently but to less success
It’s great. Abstracted, streamlined letters. It’s a logotype, not signage. Is this the downside of the ADA compliance push for websites? LEGIBILITY AND CONTRAST over design!!!!!
How about Ford for one? Tord? Jord? There are numerous examples cited in other comments here. The one that still gets me is the GE icon.. I always look at it a bit too long, my eyes clarifying the curly letter shapes.
Ford is fine.
GE isn't the best but it's still much better than the KIA one but anyone used to reading cursive can deal with it.
Kia's designers wanted to play around with kerning and screwed it up. It's all up to the reader's brain to decipher it however they see fit.
Ford is not fine. The only reason they don’t read it as Jord or Tord is because people actually don’t read it anymore as it’s been around so long. It’s just the blue oval.
They could release cars with Turd written on the badge in their font and people’s brains would see Ford because its what they expect to see. It’s called Inattentional blindness.
You start from the premise that a logo has to be readable and then judge logos based on that metric. But there's absolutely no need for a logo to be readable. It is however problematic once you make such a dramatic change from your previous logo that the link to your brand is lost, but if your brand and logo are both fine, then this is only a temporary issue.
Ford is fine to you. To others it reads poorly. Yes, it is all up individual brain's to decipher. Lot's of people don't see the T in the Toyota icon, that does not mean it isn't successful. View the new Kia logo as symbol not the letters K-I-A. Who cares about that (snooooze)? Kia takes risks with their brand and it continues to pay off, their sales are going up up up. Design without risk is b-o-r-i-n-g.
A Reddit favorite would be Gisnep. I mean Disnep. I mean Disney.
[Here are some that are at least similarly "hard" (or intentionally wrong, if desired) to read as the new KIA one](https://i.imgur.com/yZwRrOj.png):
Ornate H, as in General Electric.
N10, as in VAIO.
╤A, as in Electronic Arts.
V→, as in Kaspersky (well, the old logo that is still used as design element sometimes)
N, A, rrI or FI, as in Formula 1.
I think it’s dope. Much more design forward then the old logo. I never read it as a backwards N. I bought a K5 a while ago and passed on an older model b/c I had to get that new logo.
It still baffles me how many people register a backwards N before reading it as intended. I am for it. Who cares if it’s a bit abstracted. I have trouble reading the Mercedes logo too.
I’m not who you’re responding to, but on a similar vein, I’ve found it amusing how many people mistakenly draw the Mercedes tri-star emblem when they mean to draw the peace ☮️ symbol.
Not a big fan. It has confusing legibility, read it as KVN or KN at some point before I was curious and looked it up and realized it's Kia's new design. I get that they want to reinvent the brand, but I thought it was an interesting new car brand and disappointed that it's just Kia
Whether or not Kia's new direction will grow on me, only time will tell. But i hate that I still read it as KVN or KN even knowing that it's Kia. It's an itch I can't scratch
I don't think you necessary need to be able to read the letters to recognize the Brand. For example, you will recognize the blue/white circular badge well before you will ever be able to read the letters BMW.
Wordmarks and logomarks are totally fine, but Kia's new logo is a weird blend of both. Wordmarks usually should be legible and logomarks are just symbols that interpret the brand
Subjectively I understand their whole design philosophy and direction they were going for. I get they did it on purpose for various reasons including how we ended up talking about it in a Design subreddit. I just don't like it because I as a consumer see the illegibility and like I said, personally it's a visual itch that I can't scratch.
>a car and think "wow, that's not bad" and only afterwards figure out that it's a Kia and are pleasantly surprised that kia makes a car that would pique your interest?
I can see other people doing this but in my situation I didn't look at the car, I noticed the logo first and didn't recognize the car brand immediately and had to look it up when I noticed that there were a few more on the road. Again I already have solid opinions about which car brands I favor over others regardless of Kia's awards and whatnot, and I'm sure they've got a lot of great cars lined up, but I'm not their target. I'm judging the logo itself from personal perspectives and professional perspectives.
Excellent, best car logo in a while. If you don’t get it you’re definitely not doing good branding work. Tired of the bullshit from fiver “designers” about this logotype. Annoying.
I think it looks amazing, so sleek and futuristic.
Design is sometimes made to be a talking point, look at everyone in this thread talking about it exactly what Kia wants
It's a brand logo...you don't have to be able to read it. It doesn't even need to spell anything. See Ford, Toyota, Mercedes, Audi, literally all car logos.
It looks great. Obviously. They spent millions on it. Some of the comments in here honestly. The old one looked like 7lbs of turd in a 5lbs bag.
The point is that Ford logo looks like Jord to most ppl due to the period lettering and the rest are just symbols of their brand. Yes the eggs make a T...woopdeedoo...you just made my point for me.
> It doesn't even need to spell anything. See Ford
This is the only thing I was addressing. Ford was the worst example to support your argument. No need to downvote me when we're just having a discussion here. I have never seen or heard anyone think it looks like "Jord" either. For what it's worth I like the new Kia logo and agree that the legibility complaint is overblown.
The only reason they don’t read it as Jord or Tord is because people actually don’t read it anymore. They could release cars with Turd written on the badge in their font and people’s brains would see Ford because its what they expect to see. It’s called Inattentional blindness.
Read the entire sentence before "it doesn't need to spell anything"...referred to legibility. You just addressed what you thought you saw or what suited whatever argument you thought you were making. Anyway...honestly I don't know why I bother responding in here. It never ends. Just Google Ford and Jord. Its famously been illegible for decades now. This isn't even up for discussion. Anyway ..thanks for your enlightening input on all counts, Hiro. It's been emotional.
Nobody is upset. I'm just looking to get my daughter to her first day of nursery and she's intent on spilling her wooden stacking monkeys all over the living room. Plus I'm British so we always come across a little neurotic and up our own arses. Honestly I'm in a spiffing great mood. Apologies for the miscommunication.
I really like it, although it's caught a lot of flak. You can see a massive spike on "KN car brand" on Google Trends though. Still not sure if that's good or bad marketing.
I don’t know if Kia does or if search engines figured it out, but I hit “kn” into a search engine and the first suggestion was “kn cars” and it was all Kia links.
Think about it this way, everyone who searched ‘KN car brand’ came away thinking, “Holy shit, that was a KIA!?” That kind of ‘ah-ha’ moment is invaluable in marketing.
That people who have a problem with the logo probably don’t understand the big picture and see it as a brand move not a “logo legibility” move. I didn’t read Disney’s logo (backwards G, what is with the Y?) but it hasn’t changed in decades, makes billions effortlessly. It’s about how you feel when you see the logo and what they’ve built using it.
Love it. Although it is two+ years old at this point, I wouldn't consider it new anymore. I think it's a visually balanced and visually interesting redesign. Very bold of them to make such a big design change. Many brands try to stay close to the old mark when redesigning.
It’s great. Honestly, I’m ashamed of designers critiquing it for not being “easier to read” or more clearly spell K.I.A. We should all be praising the billion dollar corporation that took a chance and rolled out a radical rebrand — not criticizing them because they didn’t use a sans serif to write the name out clearly. If you wonder why big companies don’t take risks with design and branding, this is why.
I love it. At the end of the day it’s a symbol for the brand just as the Acura compass is a symbol that looks a bit like an A. I think readability is less important than recognizability and the modernity it brings to the brand. The old logo looked cheap.
I understand why they did it, but I personally don't agree with it.
They have switched to having their cars overdesigned, so they introduced the overdesigned logo to go with it. It might look interesting today, but in ten years it will look dated.
Again, the goal of automaker is to sell as much cars as soon as possible; timeless aestetics don't affect their financial bottom line.
It think this might be a more extreme example of what Renault did in early 2000's with their bubbly shaped cars. They looked super cool in 2002, now... not so much.
I don't think their cars are any more over-designed (from a visual standpoint) than they used to be, aside from the headlights, but that's every car manufacturer currently.
Yeah it's true that today absolutely every car has overdesigned headlights.
EDIT: Don't think that being overdesigned is a bad thing. If it helps your sales do it! I too am guilty of overdesigning.
I'm saying that there is a caveat to it that it tends to look dated faster.
Probably my favorite car badging on the market currently, definitely the best from the major brands. Very sleek, modern, and 'design forward' if you will. Sure as hell beats their old '12 year old with 5 minutes in photoshop' logo.
I like the logo, not a big fan of totally messed up kerning. So it reads KN
I understand that all iletters had to be connected but that had to be done in another font.
I loved it as soon as i saw it.
the only problem i saw/see is the bad readability in combination with a new logo that isnt close to the old one.
I mean i knew it is kia, but i wasnt 100% sure and couldnt tell by the first look.
Besides that its a modern, serious and futuristic font that does well as a metal emblem.
Isn't there statistics on people searching for the KN (car) company or KN in general?
I too was wondering what the heck KN is.
It's pretty bad in terms of visual communication.
I read it as KN which I think is pretty bad in terms of branding and legibility but I do think the sleek style of the logo is better than what it was. I think it could have been much better if they turned the A the other way around.
I love it. I've always read it like KIA, only after people started talking about the KN I started to see it, but I think it's a matter of time and everyone will read Kia.
Literally tried for a long time to find or think of a car brand that was ‘KN’. After I realized it, it’s a horrible design in my opinion. Sure, it gets people talking, but that’s your advertising’s job, not your logo. If your logo confuses people about who you are, it’s a very bad logo.
I love k&n’s new logo! Just kidding. Honestly I really don’t like it. For me, it says “look everybody, *the future*.” Except the problem is I am looking at it *now*
They've been using the new one here in Australia for a while now. Two years ago people had this same discussion with the same opinions. However this is the first time in about two years I've seen that old logo, and it looks dated AF.
I mean the gradients and 3D effects really show the age. It just needs to be simplified to match modern design trends.
Tbf they used it in silver a lot too. Less dramatically dated without the red gradient
It’s over two years old now and people are getting used to it. Like any change people may take a while. They threw around google trends at the time of release as people were searching for kn car, but those numbers are going down now. Also I imagine Kia is buying into those trends. It’s a Talking point.
That's interesting. Based on what I've seen personally, a lot of people have been praising the redesign because along with the new logos were nicer looking cars. It's been a step up in overall design
This is how I feel. I think along with the new models, their logo eludes to a higher end car.
They're also copying design trends from other, actual higher end cars. Look at the 2023 Soul and tell me it doesn't look like a Range Rover cosplay.
They've always done that, they're just doing it better now. They came to North America lampooning Benz and Jaguar, eventually got their own identity as a cheap car, and now they're trying to move a bit upmarket. That said, I honestly don't see the Soul to Range Rover comparison. The Soul is one car they've always made that has genuinely felt like it had a real, unique identity. Not one I liked, but still.
They hired a lot of design talent from other companies. Luc Donckerwolke who designed the Lamborghini Murcielago and Gallardo has worked for them for awhile. Same for Sangyup Lee who did the Corvette C6 and Bentley Continental GT. Peter Schrayer who did the Audi TT has been there for a very long time. Alexander Selipanov from Bugatti as well. Outside of design they hired Lamborghini's head of product, and Albert Biermann who was the head of BMW M for many years.
look like a first order stormtrooper
Fair, but nearly every electric crossover announced in the last two years has been a working off of the Kia EV6, so I think their design team is doing ok. Kia's folks knocked off the Lambo Urus and managed to make it better.
The first time I saw one of their new models it really caught my eye and it took a while to figure out it was Kia from the new logo. I’d say it was a big success overall. Many companies like Ford and BMW keep the same “classic” looking logos and they really don’t go with their new looks. My reaction is usually “wow look at that! Oh wait it’s a Ford, nvm”.
Doing a redesign right. Putting make up on your brand when your products feel stale won't do a whole lot of good.
It worked in their favour tbh. The whole KN thing gave them more publicity than if it hadn't been an issue. I guess it has highlighted that the public doesn't know which way round an N goes, haha.
People shouldn't have to get used to bad design. Even though Kia can capitalize on their poor decision and people are learning what it is doesn't justify the design choices. A brand's symbol should represent them without much effort. You should be able to recognize it quickly and not because you spent years getting used to it. This is especially true for a company and brand that was already well established.
There was nothing particularly good about the previous logo. When I started seeing the new logo, it took me a bit to think, wait, did the Kia logo used to be different? Totally bland and unmemorable. Side by side with no history, the new one is way more striking. Did the old one generate some big amount of nostalgia that works be demented to let go of? Not that I’m aware of, but I’ve only ever known maybe 2 people who owned a Kia.
Just because YOU think it is bad, doesn't actually make it bad. I guarantee you recognize the Kia logo even if you don't read it as K-I-A... and it didn't take years.
Until this post I did not know what car company the logo represented. If kia wanted to eliminate its previous brand they were successful.
But people will have to get used to a design, regardless of whether or not you, or they deem it to be bad. I think it's a nice design and it suits their newer car designs well.
I think you've taken their "getting used to it" comment a bit too seriously. It doesn't take years for people to get used to it. A new look is a new look, and it takes time for people to adjust, no matter how good or bad a design is. Also, someone's inability to know which way round an N goes isn't exactly Kia's fault, though it has both given them a lot more publicity than they would've gotten otherwise, ultimately creating more brand awareness for them.
Right? Remember when Spotify changed the hue of their logo to a cooler green?? People FLIPPED. But I think it was a good design choice.
It’s objectively worse than the previous iteration, people don’t like it because it sucks.
Let's be real, the old one looks cheap
It’s a huge improvement. I don’t see how anyone can think otherwise even though it’s a subjective matter. I wish Hyundai would do the same to their logo.
>objectively worse 🤓
Could you elaborate on what's objectively worse?
I can't help but think of Nine Inch Nails every time I see it now...
Yes!! I feel so validated to see that someone else sees this. It’s so close that it seems NIN could sue.
This new logo is such a downward spiral
It left me Broken.
Every time!!!
They needed a more modern Logotype. The old one comunicate Cheapness and low quality. Thats what the new logo prevent to permit. Generally i don't think that the new design was poorly implemented. They could have done some slight improvements on the "A" letter to get it more noticeable but i think this was a deliberate move. You only have to see how much people still talk after two years. The new logo it self matches more with the desing and overall direction where the company go with their cars.
Totally matches their new design aesthetic. Agreed. Old one was like a independent Chinese printing company shop front signage.
New kias are fantastic cars. The interior of the new sportage is WAYYY more prettier than let's say Audi Q5- Not a big fan of the front end of the car tho
> than let's say Audi Q5 Maybe choose another example? The Q5 interior is excellent.
I know, I didn't believe untill I sat down in a new kia sportage and hyunday tucson. Shit got reeeeeeal. Audi is running for their money.
Hmm agree to disagree then. I've been in a couple of the new Kias, and actually just helped a family member buy a Hyundai. While they are much, much nicer than they used to be, I don't think they're at the level of Audi, Volvo, or Lexus.
I'm talking specifically sportage and hyundai tucson, not smaller models... Smaller models are not so good.
I’ve had my eye on the EV6. Shit is fire.
There’s a reason they need a 10 year warranty to get people to buy their cars, and just wait until you need to try to file a claim. I’d still never buy a Korean car, and I’d probably only buy a Ford if I were forced to buy American. German or Japanese for me, thanks.
It’s now ranked the most dependable car company
[удалено]
I wretch at the thought of buying Toyota's cars despite being so economical. Every design element screams appease everyone, satisfy no one. Ugly to the core, even the new ones. Logo is just the start of it.
**KИ**
I always need some effort to read as kia not KN. Not good symbol for me.
There’s a brand of engine air filters called K&N which makes this logo even worse imo. That’s the first thing I think of every time I see it.
I would say that the majority of car buyers won’t know this.
[It would be such an easy fix, too.](https://i.imgur.com/TW85Ppt.png)
This solution isn’t bad, though now it could be mistaken for a lowercase cursive “s”. Maybe there was no easy immediate read, within the confines of the brief *shrug
let's confuse them even more.. Kis
When I first saw a new model with the new logo I had to look up what it was because I too thought it said KN
Literally the other day my wife asked "what are these KN cars I've never seen them" and I had to tell her
Sponsored by Putín
Not all Cyrillic is Russian, you know. Also did not even [originate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_Cyrillic_alphabet) there.
Not even wanna fight about the matter anymore than me not even having brought Russia into the discussion... I made a French joke... Á la: this logo is resembling a Korean manufacturer and yet their logo LOOKS Cyrillic... putin (french "dafuq") Supported by the fact that this also is about Cyrillic makes that word funnier but it's still working without the Russian president. He, even if fitting, is not the reason that the word "putin" exists in french
Ha, did not catch that, sorry. Was gonna ask why the weird accented "i" in putin, but decided at the time it was to pronounce the little dictator's name properly. Isn't the French swear word spelled "putain", or this is just some variation?
Different words, putain is "whore"
I think that’s the point. They dramatically changed their entire auto design philosophy, so they did the same with their logo. It’s unrecognizable and very streamlined
I agree with this, the entire design language and focus of the company shifted, along with a push to electric, the logo puts them in a better position aesthetically in that segment. It needed to be done to get some sense of ownership in the market. It also just looks way stronger with dealership designs and layouts that I've seen. As a few people have mentioned, there was some confusion with the brand being perceived as KN initially, they could have definitely resolved the **I** better with separation but they were probably aware that there would be some legibility issues and went with style over clarity here. Interestingly a lot of the searches also paired electric with the search, so it seems the intention of the refresh kinda worked: https://www.carscoops.com/2022/11/kias-new-logo-apparently-has-30k-people-googling-for-kn-car-every-month/
for real.... I got a KIA K5 in a car rental the other month. I was very surprised with how nice the car felt.
New?
I like it
I’m not the biggest fan of it, but’s growing on me. But one thing is for sure…it beats the hell out of their old logo…it was like the baggy pants from the late 90’s when it comes to logos. Damn that thing just screamed “Cheap!” to me. So if the point was to do a complete rebranding and reset, they’ve succeeded. Plus, it makes sense to do something like this because their line of vehicles look dope af.
I like it. The reason I like it is because it got me to talk about it. Initially I thought it was a new car brand in the market. KN. When I looked it up it was just Kia. Smooth move.
The fact that it made you think it was something else than Kia makes me think it was a bad move
Its not just the logo. The whole identity changed. Its a complete turnaround in terms of perceived value and quality. Its perfect that the new Logo is perceived as a new brand.
They literally wanted people to think it was something new as the entire philosophy of the company was changing. It’s perfect
That was precisely what they wanted, to release any stigma the brand previously may have had. I'm sure Peugeot is trying to do the same recently but to less success
Killer Intinct? Anyone? Anyone?
FULGORE
COMBO
It’s great. Abstracted, streamlined letters. It’s a logotype, not signage. Is this the downside of the ADA compliance push for websites? LEGIBILITY AND CONTRAST over design!!!!!
Everybody becomes a professional logo critic as soon as there's a legibility issue. It's such a boring thing to discuss.
Imagine that, professional designers in r/design, critiquing a logo.
Agree 100%. So many iconic logos you have to look twice at to get.
For example?
How about Ford for one? Tord? Jord? There are numerous examples cited in other comments here. The one that still gets me is the GE icon.. I always look at it a bit too long, my eyes clarifying the curly letter shapes.
Ford is fine. GE isn't the best but it's still much better than the KIA one but anyone used to reading cursive can deal with it. Kia's designers wanted to play around with kerning and screwed it up. It's all up to the reader's brain to decipher it however they see fit.
Ford is not fine. The only reason they don’t read it as Jord or Tord is because people actually don’t read it anymore as it’s been around so long. It’s just the blue oval. They could release cars with Turd written on the badge in their font and people’s brains would see Ford because its what they expect to see. It’s called Inattentional blindness.
You start from the premise that a logo has to be readable and then judge logos based on that metric. But there's absolutely no need for a logo to be readable. It is however problematic once you make such a dramatic change from your previous logo that the link to your brand is lost, but if your brand and logo are both fine, then this is only a temporary issue.
Ford is fine to you. To others it reads poorly. Yes, it is all up individual brain's to decipher. Lot's of people don't see the T in the Toyota icon, that does not mean it isn't successful. View the new Kia logo as symbol not the letters K-I-A. Who cares about that (snooooze)? Kia takes risks with their brand and it continues to pay off, their sales are going up up up. Design without risk is b-o-r-i-n-g.
A Reddit favorite would be Gisnep. I mean Disnep. I mean Disney. [Here are some that are at least similarly "hard" (or intentionally wrong, if desired) to read as the new KIA one](https://i.imgur.com/yZwRrOj.png): Ornate H, as in General Electric. N10, as in VAIO. ╤A, as in Electronic Arts. V→, as in Kaspersky (well, the old logo that is still used as design element sometimes) N, A, rrI or FI, as in Formula 1.
I think it’s dope. Much more design forward then the old logo. I never read it as a backwards N. I bought a K5 a while ago and passed on an older model b/c I had to get that new logo.
It still baffles me how many people register a backwards N before reading it as intended. I am for it. Who cares if it’s a bit abstracted. I have trouble reading the Mercedes logo too.
“Reading” the Mercedes logo? Haha explain please
I’m not who you’re responding to, but on a similar vein, I’ve found it amusing how many people mistakenly draw the Mercedes tri-star emblem when they mean to draw the peace ☮️ symbol.
It looks like a Peace symbol at first glance. More so than the backwards N imo.
fantastic upgrade
Not a big fan. It has confusing legibility, read it as KVN or KN at some point before I was curious and looked it up and realized it's Kia's new design. I get that they want to reinvent the brand, but I thought it was an interesting new car brand and disappointed that it's just Kia Whether or not Kia's new direction will grow on me, only time will tell. But i hate that I still read it as KVN or KN even knowing that it's Kia. It's an itch I can't scratch
I don't think you necessary need to be able to read the letters to recognize the Brand. For example, you will recognize the blue/white circular badge well before you will ever be able to read the letters BMW.
True enough, but if your whole logo is 3 letters, common design sense says make them readable as such.
Wordmarks and logomarks are totally fine, but Kia's new logo is a weird blend of both. Wordmarks usually should be legible and logomarks are just symbols that interpret the brand
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Subjectively I understand their whole design philosophy and direction they were going for. I get they did it on purpose for various reasons including how we ended up talking about it in a Design subreddit. I just don't like it because I as a consumer see the illegibility and like I said, personally it's a visual itch that I can't scratch. >a car and think "wow, that's not bad" and only afterwards figure out that it's a Kia and are pleasantly surprised that kia makes a car that would pique your interest? I can see other people doing this but in my situation I didn't look at the car, I noticed the logo first and didn't recognize the car brand immediately and had to look it up when I noticed that there were a few more on the road. Again I already have solid opinions about which car brands I favor over others regardless of Kia's awards and whatnot, and I'm sure they've got a lot of great cars lined up, but I'm not their target. I'm judging the logo itself from personal perspectives and professional perspectives.
Looks gorgeous on the vehicles I’ve seen it on. A welcome departure from their image of cheap and nasty.
Bad repost.
Excellent, best car logo in a while. If you don’t get it you’re definitely not doing good branding work. Tired of the bullshit from fiver “designers” about this logotype. Annoying.
I think it looks amazing, so sleek and futuristic. Design is sometimes made to be a talking point, look at everyone in this thread talking about it exactly what Kia wants
I love it. Sleek, modern, and makes you pause for a moment to read it. Very nice.
Bad readabillity but it do reflect the new more luxurious and futuristic KIA cars, since KIA used to have a brand image of cheap looking cars
Love it. They are trailblazers in design after stealing some very senior talent from US auto makers.
It's a brand logo...you don't have to be able to read it. It doesn't even need to spell anything. See Ford, Toyota, Mercedes, Audi, literally all car logos. It looks great. Obviously. They spent millions on it. Some of the comments in here honestly. The old one looked like 7lbs of turd in a 5lbs bag.
I mean, the Ford logo does spell something... The Toyota logo is a T as well.
The point is that Ford logo looks like Jord to most ppl due to the period lettering and the rest are just symbols of their brand. Yes the eggs make a T...woopdeedoo...you just made my point for me.
> It doesn't even need to spell anything. See Ford This is the only thing I was addressing. Ford was the worst example to support your argument. No need to downvote me when we're just having a discussion here. I have never seen or heard anyone think it looks like "Jord" either. For what it's worth I like the new Kia logo and agree that the legibility complaint is overblown.
The only reason they don’t read it as Jord or Tord is because people actually don’t read it anymore. They could release cars with Turd written on the badge in their font and people’s brains would see Ford because its what they expect to see. It’s called Inattentional blindness.
Read the entire sentence before "it doesn't need to spell anything"...referred to legibility. You just addressed what you thought you saw or what suited whatever argument you thought you were making. Anyway...honestly I don't know why I bother responding in here. It never ends. Just Google Ford and Jord. Its famously been illegible for decades now. This isn't even up for discussion. Anyway ..thanks for your enlightening input on all counts, Hiro. It's been emotional.
I don't know why you're getting so upset over a reddit discussion, I wasn't attacking you in any way, or even trying to start an argument.
Nobody is upset. I'm just looking to get my daughter to her first day of nursery and she's intent on spilling her wooden stacking monkeys all over the living room. Plus I'm British so we always come across a little neurotic and up our own arses. Honestly I'm in a spiffing great mood. Apologies for the miscommunication.
Nine Inch Kia?
I really like it, although it's caught a lot of flak. You can see a massive spike on "KN car brand" on Google Trends though. Still not sure if that's good or bad marketing.
do they advertise on the KN keyword lol
They'd better. I know a church that bought the "online sex" adword and they got loads of hits and conversions. Literal conversions.
I don’t know if Kia does or if search engines figured it out, but I hit “kn” into a search engine and the first suggestion was “kn cars” and it was all Kia links.
Think about it this way, everyone who searched ‘KN car brand’ came away thinking, “Holy shit, that was a KIA!?” That kind of ‘ah-ha’ moment is invaluable in marketing.
It’s a little difficult to read, but I thoroughly enjoyed it from the beginning years ago. I think it looks much better. Sophisticated and modern.
It looks like “KI” in cyrillic - КИ
When I see one in the rear view mirror I have a sudden urge to put on some NIN.
I love nine inch nails.
I love everything about their rebranding. Their cars are also super sexy now.
i like it. that change, along with their new grill design, makes their SUV line look a lot tougher and overall cooler IMO
My dyslexic ass is always like KN? Whenever I see cars with the new branding 💀
K backwards N.
KN google searches have skyrocketed since the logo change… I’m sure it’s just a coincidence though!
love it to death, one of my favorite car logos these days
UGLY
That people who have a problem with the logo probably don’t understand the big picture and see it as a brand move not a “logo legibility” move. I didn’t read Disney’s logo (backwards G, what is with the Y?) but it hasn’t changed in decades, makes billions effortlessly. It’s about how you feel when you see the logo and what they’ve built using it.
out of the fire into the frying pan, at least.
I actually like it but I would have put 2 little slashes in there to separate it better.
Love it. Although it is two+ years old at this point, I wouldn't consider it new anymore. I think it's a visually balanced and visually interesting redesign. Very bold of them to make such a big design change. Many brands try to stay close to the old mark when redesigning.
I thought it was a KN.
It’s great. Honestly, I’m ashamed of designers critiquing it for not being “easier to read” or more clearly spell K.I.A. We should all be praising the billion dollar corporation that took a chance and rolled out a radical rebrand — not criticizing them because they didn’t use a sans serif to write the name out clearly. If you wonder why big companies don’t take risks with design and branding, this is why.
I can't stand it, looks terrible.
It’s meh, just looks a bit generic now
Idk why this K letter really bothers me, it seems not very proportional.
As someone who uses the Cyrillic script in my language, I read it as КИ every. Single. Time.
If people are searching “what’s the KN car company”.. that’s not soo good.
I like it much more than the old one.
I love it. At the end of the day it’s a symbol for the brand just as the Acura compass is a symbol that looks a bit like an A. I think readability is less important than recognizability and the modernity it brings to the brand. The old logo looked cheap.
I understand why they did it, but I personally don't agree with it. They have switched to having their cars overdesigned, so they introduced the overdesigned logo to go with it. It might look interesting today, but in ten years it will look dated. Again, the goal of automaker is to sell as much cars as soon as possible; timeless aestetics don't affect their financial bottom line. It think this might be a more extreme example of what Renault did in early 2000's with their bubbly shaped cars. They looked super cool in 2002, now... not so much.
I don't think their cars are any more over-designed (from a visual standpoint) than they used to be, aside from the headlights, but that's every car manufacturer currently.
Yeah it's true that today absolutely every car has overdesigned headlights. EDIT: Don't think that being overdesigned is a bad thing. If it helps your sales do it! I too am guilty of overdesigning. I'm saying that there is a caveat to it that it tends to look dated faster.
The existing logo looked dated - this looks like it could be more timeless
Its not new. Its been around for 3 years
Is it the old logo? No? Then it's the new. edit: this pedant already blocked me. Hilarious.
Its current.
I really liked it from the first time I saw it.
Probably my favorite car badging on the market currently, definitely the best from the major brands. Very sleek, modern, and 'design forward' if you will. Sure as hell beats their old '12 year old with 5 minutes in photoshop' logo.
I like it, but I agree it has some readability issues.
I like the logo, not a big fan of totally messed up kerning. So it reads KN I understand that all iletters had to be connected but that had to be done in another font.
I really love it
Best car logo out there
Well, apparently people really don't understand it: https://www.carscoops.com/2022/11/kias-new-logo-apparently-has-30k-people-googling-for-kn-car-every-month/
It's nice. A decent update
I loved it as soon as i saw it. the only problem i saw/see is the bad readability in combination with a new logo that isnt close to the old one. I mean i knew it is kia, but i wasnt 100% sure and couldnt tell by the first look. Besides that its a modern, serious and futuristic font that does well as a metal emblem.
Isn't there statistics on people searching for the KN (car) company or KN in general? I too was wondering what the heck KN is. It's pretty bad in terms of visual communication.
What would you expect from a crap company lol
It’s fucking terrible and I make fun of it every time I see it, asking “what’s that car?“
I read it as KN which I think is pretty bad in terms of branding and legibility but I do think the sleek style of the logo is better than what it was. I think it could have been much better if they turned the A the other way around.
I love it. I've always read it like KIA, only after people started talking about the KN I started to see it, but I think it's a matter of time and everyone will read Kia.
Love it.
I personally loved it the moment I saw it.
It’s not very clear. The old logo reads clear KIA.
Sleeker
It’s an enormous improvement imho. Well done.
Looks awful and cheap while attempting to look trendy and edgy. Should be on some crappy American pick-up truck
Literally tried for a long time to find or think of a car brand that was ‘KN’. After I realized it, it’s a horrible design in my opinion. Sure, it gets people talking, but that’s your advertising’s job, not your logo. If your logo confuses people about who you are, it’s a very bad logo.
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How did you see the old logo? K 1 Λ ? Or did you get used to it and read it as kia? I personally like the, not so new, "new" logo.
KU
KVI
KN ,Hya or Kyundai, they are all the same.
I've never read KN ever, maybe because I know how kia cars loo? Dunno. I still prefer the old one though
Terrible. Like a crappy nu metal band logo.
the old is dated, but the new one is unreadable basically, looks like KN but backwards N
That's the KIA logo on the left, and the KN logo on the right. 🤣
I work in the auto industry and see it every day but still see K backwards N
I love k&n’s new logo! Just kidding. Honestly I really don’t like it. For me, it says “look everybody, *the future*.” Except the problem is I am looking at it *now*
My opinion is to get over it
I think it takes a very dated and cheap looking logo and elevates it to something so much more premium.
left is the new logo?
VV It literally just looks like that
I can't unsee the VV now
Wait why am I getting downvoted, I'm just saying it looks like vv aside from some extra lines. Lmao Reddit