Volvo CE adopts new minimalist approach to product branding
Company switches to simplified product naming with shorter and less complicated nomenclature as part of new design philosophy
Volvo CE is switching its product nomenclature to shorter and less complicated ones from this month as part of the company’s “wider ambition to look beyond the product to a more holistic site overview”.
The Swedish giant said the new product naming system is designed to fit more closely with the brand’s premium look and feel and this new design philosophy and designation policy have already won the prestigious 2020 Red Dot Product Design Award.
“Rolling out from this month, new and updated Volvo branded products will now be tagged with just the product type and size on its side – and nothing else. All other product details, such as model series and model variant, will continue to be found on the specifications, brochure or PIN plate, ensuring customers will see no change in how they buy service or order parts for their products,” said a statement from Volvo CE.
The company added that the “real motivation behind this change is to bring the product’s branding in line with the company’s minimalist Scandinavian heritage” and long-standing desire for a “clean, clear and boundless human-centric” design.
Gustavo Guerra, design director, Volvo CE, said: “We always strive for an honest and simple design that still emulates the smart power of our products. But we found that our brand designation did not suit the purposeful and progressive quality of our products. This new move is designed to bring more confidence and clarity not just to the operator but to everyone out on the jobsite – which is what we mean by boundless design.”
According to Volvo, modern construction sites are now much less focused on just the product and more focused on the construction site as a whole. With this updated product designation, the company aims to create a clearer line of communication for all parties, from the operator out on the job-site right through to the back-office function. A rise in new technologies also brings with it a necessary increase in inter-generational product updates, so eliminating the need to change the product name for every update, no matter how big or small, ensures the branding stays clean, simple and purposeful, Volvo added.
“We are at a crossroads where new and traditional ways of working are coming together. As developments in electric, autonomous and connected technologies grow side-by-side with our continued need for diesel equipment, we will soon see the level of product updates also growing exponentially. It’s a time of change for the industry and our branding structure should reflect that too,” said Guerra.
The first models launched with the new designation policy are the first two electric models of ECR25 and L25 and the ECR58 generation F – which recently won the prestigious Red Dot Award for product design. The award is the most globally recognized mark for industrial design quality and its jury said they were “impressed by the balanced construction that incorporated not only the cabin but also the exterior and the user experience”, of the Volvo product.
The new naming system effectively means removing the revision status and product specification from the external visual identity of a Volvo machine, leaving just the product abbreviation and product size. All technical details are communicated as normal on PIN plates and marketing materials.
The change is being introduced on all new and updated Volvo models in a staged roll-out from this year forward, set to take until around 2025.
