Fiat is one of the largest producers of automobiles in Italy. They have been around since 1899, and the company continues to create innovative automobile products. Their popular models include the Fiat 500, the Fiat Punto, and the Fiat 124 Spider. Fiat enthusiasts know that the company’s logo has changed many times over the years, so vintage cars with older logos are highly sought after. In this article, you can learn more about the Fiat logo, and its evolution throughout the century.
Fiat Logo Design Elements
Fiat’s logo has a design that mimics the emblem mounted on their vehicles. It is a silver circle that is shaded to look like a flat, metallic disc with a thin rim around it. Inside of this circle is a dark red trapezoid. It has four sides, with the bottom side being slightly shorter than the top, and the corners being rounded.
Within the trapezoid is the word “FIAT.” Each letter is capitalized and slightly shaded to look like silver metal. An elongated, sans-serif font, with a vague Art Deco look, is used for the brand name. The letters are pressed very tightly together, so the right side of the A curves to make room for the T’s crossbar.
Changes and Evolution
1. Shape
In the early 1900s, Fiat logos were beautiful but very elaborate. One of them had a rectangular shape with engraved leaves and a sun surrounding a smaller rectangle containing the word “Fiat.” This logo was slightly simplified into an oval shape surrounding the rectangle with the brand name, and a winged decoration instead of all the vines. By the 1920s, Fiat had returned to a botanical logo with their circular logo shaped like a wreath around their name.
Fiat finally simplified their logo in the 1930s, when it became a plain rectangle that contained the word “Fiat.” This rectangle became a shield before returning to a rectangle shape with rounded edges. The company then had a logo with four individual rectangles that each had one letter of the brand name. For a short time in the 1980s, they used a logo without a name, and this one was a rhombus with five vertical lines. To celebrate their 100th anniversary, the company returned to a wreathed circle briefly, before simplifying it to a circular border around the brand name.
2. Color
Fiat’s first few logos were blue and gold. When they used the circular wreath, the company switched to a red and gold color scheme. This became silver and gold for a few years, before returning to red and gold on the rectangle logo. The four rectangle, rhombus, and anniversary logos were all blue and silver, but Fiat switched to red and silver for their current logo.
3. Font
Other than a brief period of time using a plain, italicized, sans-serif font on the four rectangle logo, Fiat has always used their signature font.
Influences/Inspiration
Fiat’s logo is inspired by all of the past logos of the company. It uses the red of the rectangular shield symbol from the logo in the 1930s-1960s. The rectangular, shield-shaped trapezoid of that logo is also mimicked in the interior portion of the logo. Fiat references their leaf wreath logo by using the circular shape around the exterior of the logo.
All of these various bits of inspiration were selected because they also meet the modern marketing needs of Fiat. The red and silver color scheme helps them stand out from all the other manufacturers who use blue and silver logos. All of the shading helps make the logo look pleasant on HD television ads and computer screens.
Trivia
- Vehicles with the Fiat logo are particularly popular among environmentally conscious people, because they consistently win awards for having the lowest level of emissions.
- Fiat is actually an acronym that means “Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino.” This translates to “Italian Automobiles Factory, Turin.”
- Though the Fiat logo is often seen on cars, the company also makes railway engines, tractors, weapons, and aircraft.
Conclusion
The Fiat logo has changed many times as the automobile company struggled to find an identity. Their modern logo combines elements from many past logos to create a single, unified look. The resultant circular, red and silver logo looks both elegant and industrial, so it perfectly matches the designs for Fiat cars.
Recommended Read: Ferrari Logo Design History and Evolution
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