From mid-2020 onwards, a transformation of the Kia brand has been undertaken and its purpose realigned. A new logo was to present not only this objective, but also the values that the Korean car manufacturer promises customers in terms of future products and services, as well as the associated experiences.

When Euisun Chung took over in October 2020 we wanted to give one identity to every brand - Hyundai, Kia, Genesis - in the Hyundai Motor Group.

The new Kia logo was to become the highly concentrated visual expression of the new and future-oriented brand identity. A distinctive new design was to reflect the brand's vibrant attitude: Kia should be the rock of a young agile life. And so we showed in the presentation the logo not on the car, but on our earphones - our message was: Reinvent the brand.

The budget is treated confidentially.

Nowadays, a logo must not only function in print, but above all digitally, for example as an app, in a film and also in various applications in the vehicle. A logo is a multicommunicative platform. With this in mind, our task was to ensure that the logo would work in real life in all of the 64 in-vehicle applications we found - without a change in the quality of the look and feel. In this process, we worked closely with CCO Luc Donckerwolke, who entered into an intensive dialogue with us.

The new Kia logo was used not only throughout the vehicle range, but also in all online and offline brand communications, such as digital or analog ad formats.

The new brand strategy was intended to attract a younger target group in particular, who are open to development, change or surprises and are characterized by a modern and open-minded lifestyle.

Kia means "personal rise" in Korean. That's why we made the personality of the brand visible when designing the new look. We freed the lettering from the oval that so many other brands such have around their logo. Although the oval is considered easy to apply to the vehicle, it lacked the differentiation in appearance that we see as a parallel to the individuality of the Kia brand.

We showed a logo from Kia in the year 2050 and then went slowly to this one.

The lettering of the new logo should come as if from a pen and be a personal signature of the brand.

It was like everything is centered. But like a perfect Korean vase - if you look closer you see it is imperfect-perfect, visually balanced. We transformed a lettering into a logo. A symbol you can recordnize in every position even upside down.

In order to be able to design a corporate identity, one must first understand the brand and its origins. If you put yourself in the culture, the balance between Eum and Yang quickly becomes clear. This symbol stands for the universe and the complementing of opposites. The South Korean flag depicts the special nature of universal relationships in the interplay of trigrams. Therefore, similar to these line symbols, the lettering is symmetrical as well as slanted upwards. This not only reveals the individuality and aspiration of the Kia brand, but also its cultural connection to the Far Eastern philosophy of South Korea.