To be distinct in the competitive automotive industry, we drew inspiration from our Korean roots; natural materials such as linen and wood; our culture; our values of balance, harmony and warmth; and the four elements depicted in the Korean flag – water, earth, fire, and wind. They come together harmoniously to form the basis of our redefined brand assets.

This allows us to focus on the essentials – the special people, moments and experiences that make life truly meaningful. Rich yet simple, these are the things that truly matter: living life with a confident outlook and celebrating the refined details.

Richness in Simplicity is the creative, customer-facing expression of our brand essence, Modern Premium. The brand creative direction Richness in Simplicity recognizes that there is beauty in life’s simple pleasures that drives us. This single compelling idea is designed to create strong emotional ties between our customers, products, and services.

Consistent, ownable, and expandable, Hyundai is built on five design elements that convey the rich diversity of life’s experiences.

The background layer of our graphic system features ambient surfaces, structures, and natural elements; the story layer in the foreground features imagery of everyday moments, serving as a window into our customers’ lives. Hyundai Sans was crafted for us from scratch to support our communications in 103 languages in 193 countries. Thanks to its carefully crafted geometric structure drawing inspiration from Korean traditional characters, enhanced legibility, and balanced letter shapes, Hyundai Sans radiates a warm, confident, simple look with a human touch. Our typeface is complemented by a distinctive, harmonious color palette that takes its inspiration from the four elements: earth, wind, fire, and water.

To help execution of Hyundai’s new brand design, we have implemented a brand management system to provide design support and guidance to employees and agencies worldwide.

The new brand design has reached thousands of new customers at the Paris Motor Show, the Geneva Motor Show, and the International Electric Vehicle Expo. Newly redesigned packaging, experiences, mobile apps, and merchandise have also extended the design’s reach. This refreshing improvement in Hyundai’s image has attracted consumer attention and proven the new design system’s scalability across diverse markets and media landscapes.

The result is greater coordination across all markets. Korean and the EU markets, for example, now use a common set of key assets for i30 sales brochures and websites. This has led to greater consistency in marketing materials, guidelines, and training of employees.

Finally, the brand design has transformed our employee’s perception of Hyundai from being tech-focused to that of a lifestyle-focused company. The new stationery and merchandise, including business cards, report folders, letterhead, notebooks, tote bags, and umbrellas, has greatly boosted employee engagement and morale.