OppoCopied

OPPO, founded in 2004 and based in China, was ranked the world's fifth-largest smartphone brand in 2018, with phones used by more than 200 million people. In spring 2019 it was pushing into the premium segment, citing Counterpoint Research figures that made it the fastest-growing premium smartphone brand, and preparing its new Reno series.

In April 2019 OPPO unveiled a new visual identity, Telecompaper reported: a new logotype, colour system, layout system and a custom typeface, OPPO Sans, in Chinese, Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. The company said the logo was much simpler and symmetrical, keeping OPPO's characteristic curves.

The design team's account adds detail. The redrawn logotype keeps the curved O of the old wordmark but simplifies it, and is optimised for mass manufacturing. Variations were tested, including one with the oval tilted. The counterform ellipse becomes a shape OPPO can own, framing images like a camera lens to underline the brand's focus on photography. A monogram layers the O and the P. The love of symmetry goes deep: OPPO interfaces traditionally show the clock at 01:10. OPPO Sans extends the oval into the counters of other Latin and Cyrillic letters. The signature green was refined for digital use, with light green, dark green and a platinum evoking product materials, plus colours for individual lines, such as teal for Reno.

The identity launched with the Reno series and the 'I'm Reno' campaign in India and elsewhere.

In an interview published by Pakistan's Board of Investment, OPPO's local marketing director Ali Kakvi described the identity as building on the brand's legacy while serving a more customer centric approach, with the emphasis on quality, attention to detail, creativity and innovation. It was rolled out alongside the Reno series, positioned as the brand's step from selfie experts to portrait specialists. The pairing is telling: the identity was launched less as a design statement than as a premium repositioning, with the new phones expected to carry it.

This is quiet, competent work. The new wordmark looks more expensive than the old bubbly one, which was the point for a brand climbing upmarket. The 01:10 symmetry is a lovely detail. The weakness is that it now looks like many other premium tech wordmarks; the oval is a real asset, if it is used boldly enough.