Developed in 1959 as a result of the gas crisis that was wreaking havoc on the automobile industry, the Mini Cooper has been a staple of efficiency in a small package ever since. The car and the Mini Cooper logo have become a symbol of efficient design and reduced consumption, one beloved by car enthusiasts all over the world.
Mini Cooper Logo Design Elements
Of course, the three main design elements of the Mini Cooper logo are the wings, the circle, and the word “Mini” written inside the circle. Regardless of which Mini Cooper car logo we’re talking about, the wings were pretty much always there. Prior to 2001, when the Mini Cooper became old news and was replaced by the Mini marque, the logo kept changing shapes along with its owners.
However, since the Mini and the Mini Cooper logo became part of BMW, the brand and Mini emblem were redesigned and given new life and popularity.
Changes and Evolution
The creation of the Mini Cooper in 1959 by Alec Issigonis was preceded by the fuel shortage caused by the Suez Crisis. In an attempt to fight off the rise in popularity of the German Bubble cars, Leonard Lord, then Chairman of the British Motor Corporation, decided he needed an extremely fuel-effective small four-seater.
So, in 1959, the Mini Cooper first came to be under two different brands – the Austin Se7en and the Morris Mini-Minor. Ever since, the car models and the Mini Cooper logos have varied quite frequently, from one brand to another and from one model to another. This led to a large number of Mini Cooper logos to hit the market, some sporting coats of arms, others sporting different symbols, but most with a variation or another of Austin and Morris in the badge.
It wasn’t until the success of the Mini Cooper S that the company decided to unite both brands and have them go as Mini and Mini Cooper. Eventually, the brand became the property of the British Rover Group, and then of BMW. This is when the last Mini was officially built and sent to the British Motor Heritage Trust. At the same time, the new MINI came to life in 2001.
Shape
From 2001 until 2016, the new Mini has maintained a single logo – the black circle encompassed by the silver wings. Starting this year, the logo suffered a very drastic redesign, getting rid of the actual silver wings and becoming as minimalistic as it would ever be. But let’s talk about the new logo and see how it compared to the Mini Cooper logo.
First of all, the Mini Cooper logo wings are part of one of the most recognizable logos in the world. They are meant to represent and symbolize a number of qualities by which the automotive company is defined – speed, freedom, power, and agility. And it works perfectly to represent all four attributes. Meanwhile, the circle is meant to represent endurance, strength, reliability, and eternal customer satisfaction.
Interestingly, while the company has seen the new logo update as an even bigger suggestion of minimalism and simplicity, most MINI fans have only seen it as a pointless, unnecessary modification brought to an already beloved logo. The fact that the silver wings are now missing, replaced by the black lines, hasn’t really seen a positive reception.
Color
Like the Mini Cooper logo shape, the Mini Cooper logo colors have also been subjectto numerous changes. The 1969 Mini logo sported colors similar to the ones used nowadays. The brand name was written in white on a black background. But the 1969 Mini logo featured additional blue and white ornamentes.
The most recent Mini color scheme, the simple black and white (or rather, silver and white), was introduced in 2000, when the company was taken over by BMW.
Font
There isn’t all that much to say about the font of the Mini logo, just as there isn’t much to say about the Mini Cooper logo font. It’s a simple, custom typeface, meant to inspire simplicity, minimalism, and directness.
The font on the logo is meant to transmit exactly what the brand has stood for all along, compressing the company’s qualities in a single four-letter word. Just like the word it represents, the font in which MINI is written in the middle of the emblem is reliable, minimalistic, effective, and completely unostentatious.
Inspiration and Trivia
According to a number of inside sources, the Mini logo is inspired by some of the previous logos the company has used. This is why the name of the brand is written in silver letters in the middle of an elegant, black circle. While the logo lasting until 2016 had a look that made it stylish and edgy, the new logo is too simple for the likes of most of the company’s long-time fans.
The Mini Cooper will always be associated with rallies. The car won dozens of awards around the world, competing for many countries.
One of the most instantly recognizable logos in the world, the MINI logo was inspired by not just one Mini Cooper logo, but by a number of them. Having become a symbol of efficient design and reduced consumption, the Cooper and the Mini are some of the most appreciated and beloved car brands in the world.
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