Progression of Logo – Mercedes Benz

Mercedes Benz is world famous for manufacturing automobiles, buses, coaches, trucks and bicycles. Their first automobile was manufactured in 1886 under the supervision of Karl Benz, the pioneering founder of the brand along with the partnership of German engine designers, Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach.

The marketing history of this huge brand dates back in 1902, when the patented name ‘Mercedes’ was first registered.

In this logo the name Mercedes is written in all caps and is encircled with an oval shape. The logo was in black and white. Although, at that time it was considered a successful brand name, still it lacked a characteristic trademark. This logo was entirely different from the current logo of the brand. There was no star element in the logo until the day Paul and Adolf Daimler, the two sons of Gottlieb Daimler and currently the business in charge, realized that their father once used the ‘star’ symbol as their brand identity.

Later in 1909, the two brothers suggested the idea to have a three-pointed star as their logo, which was immediately accepted by the board and got registered as trademark.

There was another logo created for Mercedes Benz in 1909, in which only the word ‘BENZ’ was encircled. The color of the logo was golden yellow and blue, which you can see in the image above. However, this logo wasn’t a hit as compared to the three-pointed star. So from 1910, the pointed star logo began to appear as a design feature at the front of the car on its radiator.

The reason behind three-pointed star logo’s success was majorly the fact that it had a concept behind it. It was basically Daimler’s ambition of universal motorization. However, further changes were made in the logo in 1916, which included the usual three-pointed star surrounded by a circle. In addition to that, there were four small circles incorporated in that tyre along with the word Mercedes in capital letters. The colors used were black, red, golden yellow and white. No alterations were made in the logo till 1926, but in 1923, the company applied for legal protection of utility patents for any new variations on their trademark.

After World War I, the inflation hit the highest point and the sales went drastically down. That was the time, when it got very tough for Mercedes to survive. As a result, in 1926, the two oldest motor manufacturers signed a merger to form Daimler-Benz AG and a new logo was designed which had the DMG’s famous three-pointed star, surrounded by a circle with its trade name ‘Mercedes’ and the equally famous name ‘Benz’. The color of this logo was a combination of dark and light blue. The designer of this logo used different font style and color to give it a unique look. Moreover, the small stars were also removed which were there in the previous logo. This logo of Mercedes Benz represented tradition, innovation and the future of the automobile.

This is the current logo of Mercedes Benz, which is a lot like the logo they had in 1909. The logo is simple, elegant and a symbol of luxury and top tier cars.

I have come to conclude how Mercedes Benz evolved its logo from a simple name to a design which represents the brand all over the world. Do share with us, the evolution of other big brands in the comments section.

Image by d70focus.