71 replies to this topic

[glorius&victorius]

this is the logo in question:

http://en.wikipedia....claren_logo.jpg

It has been around for a few years now...I am not impressed at all by it.... can anyone (while voting) shed some more light on the history of the logo?

I still feel that the real McLaren logo should come.

Edited by glorius&victorius, 09 April 2012 - 18:33.

[nordschleife]

It is a very stylized representation of Bruce McLaren's kiwi badge. Lost in translation if you ask me.

[Tombstone]

Simple, stands out. It works.

Got a feeling it represents a highly stylised kiwi bird.

Edited by Tombstone, 09 April 2012 - 18:26.

[jrg19]

I think its also heavily influenced by Marlboro



the double Red shape.

[glorius&victorius]

has it been derived from this?

[glorius&victorius]

I think its also heavily influenced by Marlboro



the double Red shape.

i remember this was around in 93 .... but then there was also the squashed hedgehog to represent a win:




... hmm seems like the marlboro red logo... the squashed hedgehog and kiwi were merged into that red 1/3 oval

Edited by glorius&victorius, 09 April 2012 - 18:32.

[Sevach]

It's meh honestly...
Now that they have an real road car division (the F1, at the time, seemed like a one off with GT racing in mind), they should perhaps "pimp it" a little, and make it more visible.

Edited by Sevach, 09 April 2012 - 18:34.

[korzeniow]

I don't like it. This logo is unrecognizable. Don't ring any bells when you look at it.

[johnmhinds]

It's meh honestly...
Now that they have an real road car division (the F1, at the time, seemed like a one off with GT racing in mind), they should perhaps "pimp it" a little, and make it more visible.

It's on the front of ever car they race and sell, how much more visible do you want it to be?

[KavB]

It's meh honestly...
Now that they have an real road car division (the F1, at the time, seemed like a one off with GT racing in mind), they should perhaps "pimp it" a little, and make it more visible.

I agree, it looks bland compared to the Prancing Horse emblem, or even BMW/Honda/Toyota and etc emblem.

[Nemo29E]

It always reminds me of my old high schools attempt at a rad logo... http://www.eteach.co...o.ashx?id=18546

To be fair they cleaned it up a little over the years but it stands for pretty much nothing.


At least a whoosh with Mclaren kind of represents speed... Its simple and alright certainly not one of the worst.

Edited by Nemo29E, 09 April 2012 - 19:04.

[Jimisgod]

Dullest logo in all existence. An awful "red" and light grey blob?

Even the original Bruce McLaren red-white-green logo looks uneasy.

Compare that to the Ferrari badge.



Or the simple Williams one.



Or even Lotus in its original guise.

Edited by Jimisgod, 09 April 2012 - 19:01.

[thechin]

It suits McLaren in that it is a bit meh and unremarkable.

[engel]

It just looks like something that went through 4 committees and conformed to a list of 10 abstract buzzwords ... corporate, not memorable.

That doesn't mean to say I dislike it, I don't, it's just not striking

Edited by engel, 09 April 2012 - 19:00.

[jrg19]

Its exactly what it needs to be, simple and stylish and recognisable to those who know cars.



this is a better example of the logo IMO.

Edited by jrg19, 09 April 2012 - 19:10.

[Watkins74]

I am tired today and the poll has me a bit confused.

"do you like?" - No

"do I dislike?" - Yes

[kartinhero]

There's something horribly wrong in this poll's question..

"do you like / dislike the mclaren logo?" is NOT a question where you can answer "YES" or "NO"

[tifosiMac]

Its a clean, simple logo which is instantly recognizable as the McLaren brand. I don't see any reason to dislike it unless you are being overly picky and its not something that bothers me much if I'm honest.

[ForeverF1]

I am tired today and the poll has me a bit confused.

"do you like?" - No

"do I dislike?" - Yes

There's something horribly wrong in this poll's question..

"do you like / dislike the mclaren logo?" is NOT a question where you can answer "YES" or "NO"

Please remember that not everyone's first language is English.

[Cavani]

i dont see anything wrong with it , it is simple and instantly recognizable by anyone who likes racing or car in general

[Sevach]

It's on the front of ever car they race and sell, how much more visible do you want it to be?

That thing is invisible on the nose of the F1 race car (even on the MP4-12C it is small and understated), no one but the craziest F1 junkies (includes me and you apparently) can spot that.
They also have it on the top of the sidepods for years now, but to the average person it looks like a random thing they put there so it won't be empty, kinda like the 3 stripes Red Bull has on their car.

In my opinion they could change it a bit, add the Mclaren name on top to make people more aware of it.

[Watkins74]

Please remember that not everyone's first language is English.

I didn't rag on anybody. I said I was confused.

[SCUDmissile]

The bad thing about the logo is that it is not recognisable to mainstream people. I mean, as Mac fans say, it doesn't even prominently feature on the team wear. Compare that to Ferrari, where the logo is instantly recognisable, and pops out at you on the team wear.

[PayasYouRace]

Or the simple Williams one.

That's a pretty recent one but they've always had some sort of W based logo.

[Tsarwash]

I don't understand the poll. I dislike the logo though.

[wrcva]

it kind of reminds you the star trek logo (a bit tilted)...

[Anonymous]

This logo is unrecognizable. Don't ring any bells when you look at it.

LOL!

[nimbus111]

i like it

[RoutariEnjinu]

It looks like some crappy clip-art compared to the likes of BMW, Ferrari, Lotus badges. But the Williams one is pretty "college kid" shite too.

I'll be ****ed if I can figure out the poll though? The programmer in me says the correct answer is YES, as I do like !! dislike it.

Edited by RoutariEnjinu, 10 April 2012 - 00:01.

[saudoso]

I think its also heavily influenced by Marlboro



the double Red shape.

Actualy it came with West, after Marlboro jumped ship.

[SirRacer]

The logo itself alone, for me, reflects 3 principal things:

- dynamism
- modernity
- aggressiveness

If McLaren, the company, wants to just reflect those 3 things, the logo is perfectly fine.

[RacingReporter]

Nobody sees the similarities between McLaren and Nike?

[bluffalo]

I think the logo is fine.
it would be better if it always had "mclaren <logo>" though, not just the blob by itself.


What i don't like is the chrome on the cars, but thats something completely different.


oh, I also distinctly remember the McLaren "M" is styled sort of reversed.

Edited by bluffalo, 10 April 2012 - 12:20.

[john_smith]

The logo itself alone, for me, reflects 3 principal things:

- dynamism
- modernity
- aggressiveness

If McLaren, the company, wants to just reflect those 3 things, the logo is perfectly fine.

i agree 100%, dynamic and modern with sophistication.

although i take the point that mclaren's branding committee (or focus group) would have had the same conversation - a little corporate and perhaps sterile - just like mclaren's image.

[nimbus111]

Nobody sees the similarities between McLaren and Nike?

Just do it!

[genespleen]

The bad thing about the logo is that it is not recognisable to mainstream people. I mean, as Mac fans say, it doesn't even prominently feature on the team wear. Compare that to Ferrari, where the logo is instantly recognisable, and pops out at you on the team wear.

This is an important point. One would think that an outfit as steeped in racing as McLaren would have by now settled on some sort of emblematic representation of their history as a racing--and that's their core--concern. Their current design, however, looks absolutely the product of unremarkable committee-think. It looks like the product of uninspired outsourcing.

For a team that prides itself on professionalism, this is rather amazing. Or perhaps, rather typically corporate.

[john_smith]

This is an important point. One would think that an outfit as steeped in racing as McLaren would have by now settled on some sort of emblematic representation of their history as a racing--and that's their core--concern. Their current design, however, looks absolutely the product of unremarkable committee-think. It looks like the product of uninspired outsourcing.

For a team that prides itself on professionalism, this is rather amazing. Or perhaps, rather typically corporate.

their team merchandise doesn't even mention the word mclaren, and the team logo is rather small. it's just full of the logos of its sponsors. that's why i didn't buy a team shirt.

[AMG FAN]

i like things to be plain and simple,so yes i like it.

[evo]

It looks like some crappy clip-art compared to the likes of BMW, Ferrari, Lotus badges. But the Williams one is pretty "college kid" shite too.

I'll be ****ed if I can figure out the poll though? The programmer in me says the correct answer is YES, as I do like !! dislike it.

mazda themselves have gone through a few changes - fairly big changes at that. only the word 'Mazda' hadn't changed over time...

http://www.mazda.com...pert/mazda-logo

[zepunishment]

I find the logo to be very bland and corporate - which reflects the image of modern Mclaren perfectly. It's rather like the British Airways speedbird logo, which has been sanitised into this:



It really is a shame that Mclaren; especially the new road car division, don't reflect more of their heritage in their logo:



And it would be nice to see the kiwi logo return in some form to the racecars:



Of course this is rather unlikely whilst Mclaren persist in trying to perpetuate the idea that they exist on some far away planet, with their clinical MTC and 'brand centre' at races.

[Zava]

[klyster]

^ lol, nice find Zava ;)

It's a bit meh, but show me a logo that isn't.

Ferrari's logo is a gold chain on a hairy chest, it may appeal to some and it sure reeks of $$$ but a horse in a shield?I don't know why people are using them as some sort of example of a good logo, Lamborghini trump them on the testosterone logo front...and flip the bird at red bull too...

Anyway, yeah it's a bit lame, but most logos are.

Edited by klyster, 10 April 2012 - 11:42.

[grandmastashi]

Taking the logo on its own for a second, I don't mind it. However you could quite easily put it above the name of any investment bank in the world and have it mean just as much.

As a brand, it doesn't 'say' anything about Mclaren and what they do. IIRC it's an evolution of the Marlboro chevron that appeared on their logo up to the end of '96, then was given a rounded edge so it maintained some of the link to their 'red and white' identity when they switched to West (who I'm still somewhat surprised allowed it given it's obvious historical reference to a competitor).

The Kiwi logo, a stylised M, anything would represent the company better in my view. Having said that, there are some far worse ones out there... Caterham's is abysmal for example.

I used to work at RML in the marketing team, and their logo was incredibly difficult to work with because of the way it had been laid out... look here. A unwieldy font next to the Mallock family shield. A couple of simple switches could have made all the difference, say moving the letters RML above to sit on top of the shield, or even just using the shield on it's own. Ray (justifiably) is very proud of the logo and is hugely resistant to making changes, but from a design pov again it doesn't really 'say' anything about the company does.

I actually have some mock ups on my home PC of some proposed edits to the logo a designer produced that would've brought it a little more up to date, such as adding an edge of carbon fibre to reflect the cutting edge engineering RML do etc, but they weren't accepted. I think when people like Ray and Ron Dennis have invested their heavily in their businesses, the logo can be a prickly subject, particularly if they're fond of it...

[SirRacer]

Taking the logo on its own for a second, I don't mind it. However you could quite easily put it above the name of any investment bank in the world and have it mean just as much.

But happens the same with the shape of a lot of logos out there. Take Nike for example, put the symbol next to a an investment bank and it's the same. Or Apple, if you saw the logo for the first time and you didn't know the company, you could have though its for a food company...

A brand is build by many factors, in case of McLaren, the cars themselves, the liveries, overalls, buildings, website, typography, PR, etc...

[midgrid]

i remember this was around in 93 .... but then there was also the squashed hedgehog to represent a win:




... hmm seems like the marlboro red logo... the squashed hedgehog and kiwi were merged into that red 1/3 oval

Brilliant! Presumably because Williams was sponsored by Sega in 1993, and the FW15C's livery featured Sonic the Hedgehog.

[f1fan1998]

Taking the logo on its own for a second, I don't mind it. However you could quite easily put it above the name of any investment bank in the world and have it mean just as much.

As a brand, it doesn't 'say' anything about Mclaren and what they do. IIRC it's an evolution of the Marlboro chevron that appeared on their logo up to the end of '96, then was given a rounded edge so it maintained some of the link to their 'red and white' identity when they switched to West (who I'm still somewhat surprised allowed it given it's obvious historical reference to a competitor).

The Kiwi logo, a stylised M, anything would represent the company better in my view. Having said that, there are some far worse ones out there... Caterham's is abysmal for example.

I used to work at RML in the marketing team, and their logo was incredibly difficult to work with because of the way it had been laid out... look here. A unwieldy font next to the Mallock family shield. A couple of simple switches could have made all the difference, say moving the letters RML above to sit on top of the shield, or even just using the shield on it's own. Ray (justifiably) is very proud of the logo and is hugely resistant to making changes, but from a design pov again it doesn't really 'say' anything about the company does.

I actually have some mock ups on my home PC of some proposed edits to the logo a designer produced that would've brought it a little more up to date, such as adding an edge of carbon fibre to reflect the cutting edge engineering RML do etc, but they weren't accepted. I think when people like Ray and Ron Dennis have invested their heavily in their businesses, the logo can be a prickly subject, particularly if they're fond of it...

Sara Lamden?

[Jon83]

As dull as I would expect from McLaren to be honest.

[Ross Stonefeld]

Logo Guardians© are notorious in any company, it's like it's more sacred than the product or company itself. When I helped Newman-Haas with their liveries their sponsor PacifiCare was really specific about colors, logo placement, etc. They rejected everything we came up with. I eventually told my boss "Why don't we let their people do a design, we'll submit ours, and we'll see who gets the nod".

They won.

This was the result.

[PayasYouRace]

They obviously knew what they were talking about. I liked that livery

Edit: I'm basically teasing you there Ross. I can certainly understand that company logo guardians would be infuriating to work with. But I do genuinely like that car.

Edited by PayasYouRace, 10 April 2012 - 13:08.

[fieraku]

The most nonsensical,boring logo ever. If you want to make a statement at 50 in a 600+ BHP sports car,the "raging Bull" fits the bill best for a man in midlife crisis.



Now...that's a logo.