NissanCopied

Nissan's previous logo had served for about 20 years, a heavy chrome ring and bar around the name that looked machined rather than drawn. Work on a replacement began in summer 2017 under Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan's senior vice president of global design, and the result was revealed in July 2020 on the Ariya, the brand's first electric crossover.

The trigger was a car. Albaisa said the old badge felt heavy and too metallic next to the digital, futuristic design of the Ariya electric crossover, and described the new identity as thin, light and flexible. The Ariya, unveiled in July 2020, was the first Nissan to wear it, as an illuminated badge lit by 20 LEDs.

The new emblem keeps the basic arrangement, name across the middle, circle behind, but flattens everything. The ring becomes a thin line that breaks open where the name crosses it, and the chrome and shading disappear. Nissan describes the shift as moving from a hard-edged, industrial feel to something refined and digital-friendly, designed rather than manufactured. A practical constraint shaped it: on electric models the badge is illuminated, lit by 20 LEDs, one for each year between redesigns, so the outline thickness had to stay crisp when lit and comply with lighting regulations, while still working unlit on screen and paper.

The logo was designed by Nissan's in-house team, with TBWA and Nissan United supporting the communications system.

Motor Authority added the design brief. The logo had been in the works since 2017 and was the first redesign in 20 years; design chief Alfonso Albaisa gave the team the keywords thin, light and flexible. The basic format, the Nissan name bisecting a circle, survived, but the execution was flatter. On electric models the badge would glow with 20 LEDs, one for each year since the previous redesign, an idea the outlet traced back to Wolseley and to recent Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen concepts. The Ariya crossover carried it first, with the Rogue, Frontier and Z next in a product push meant to reverse Nissan's fortunes.

Of the wave of flattened car badges around 2020, Nissan's is one of the more successful. The open ring adds movement without losing the old silhouette, and designing for illumination gave the thin line a functional reason to exist rather than just following fashion.