Lippincott Mercer Revitalizes Visual Identity for Infiniti
New York, July 07, 2004
Lippincott Mercer, a leading design and brand strategy consultancy, has revitalized the visual identity for Nissan’s luxury brand, Infiniti. The redesigned Infiniti logo made its world debut in the automaker’s new advertising campaign and on the Infiniti M Concept vehicle unveiled at the 2004 New York International Auto Show.
“The revitalized visual identity clearly communicates the distinctive essence and personality of the Infiniti brand,” said Mark Perry, director of corporate brand management and consumer research, Nissan North America. “Better yet, these refinements bring it into alignment with the brand identity and with the artful expression of graceful strength found in Infiniti’s vehicles.”
In addition to the redesigned logo, Lippincott Mercer revised brand and application color palettes and refined the use of other prominent elements including typography to ensure that they effectively translate the concepts of the new Infiniti brand identity into a tangible, visual expression. The evolutionary changes are part of Infiniti’s broader program to reinforce the power of its brand through its consistent expression across all visual and experiential touchpoints.
“The revitalized visual identity expresses the premium nature and dynamic spirit of Infiniti, and reflects the energy and excitement of its latest vehicles,” explained Rodney Abbot, senior partner at Lippincott Mercer. “It also visually unites Infiniti’s diverse business functions and regional markets with a common set of core brand elements and usage standards—presenting a single face to the world.”
Lippincott’s design process was preceded by an intensive analysis and audit phase, during which the team reviewed customer research and conducted interviews with important internal and external audiences. All of the luxury brand’s communications, advertising, merchandising and marketing materials were audited to determine how the brand was expressed across a broad host of media applications. Paramount to the process was the interpretation of Infiniti’s new brand identity into design criteria that would easily guide the development and implementation of the new visual identity.
The original Infiniti name and visual identity was created in 1989 by Lippincott Mercer (then known as Lippincott & Margulies), just prior to the development of Infiniti’s first vehicle. The name “Infiniti” was chosen to communicate the endless potential for satisfaction among owners of a car with superb comfort, reliability and luxury. The unusual spelling assured the proprietary usage of the name, while the elegant logo was derived from the symbol for infinity.
The 2004 revitalized logo retains the sophistication, strength and serenity that are the hallmarks of the Infiniti brand, while adding elements of warmth, modernity and precision. To achieve this, Lippincott altered the geometry and modeling of the brand symbol to convey a fluid, dynamic form with a hand-burnished, finely crafted quality, and refined the wordmark to create a more balanced, unified appearance. The latest Infiniti logo—while separate and distinct from the Nissan logo—appears as if crafted from the same hand, with similar treatments to shading, curve and depth.
The new Infiniti brand colors, which include silver, black and white, play an important role to display the Infiniti logo in all media and environments. Violet, a color symbolic of luxury and of Infiniti’s brand identity, will be used strategically as a brand accent or “hero” color—evoking strength, richness, balance and individuality. Additionally, a support palette of warm, neutral tones has been chosen to work in harmony with the brand colors, providing flexibility across application items.
Each refined visual element represents a sharpened understanding of the Infiniti brand. Working together, they ensure a strong, compelling visual identity and guarantee that Infiniti’s outward appearance accurately reflects the desired image of progressive luxury.
ABOUT NISSAN NORTH AMERICA
In North America, Nissan North America’s operations include automotive styling, engineering, manufacturing, sales and marketing, consumer and corporate financing and distribution. More information on NNA and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at nissannews.com and infinitinews.com or by contacting NNA’s corporate media line at 310-771-5631.
ABOUT LIPPINCOTT
Lippincott is a leading brand strategy and design consultancy. The firm was founded in 1943 as Lippincott & Margulies and pioneered the discipline of corporate identity. Lippincott operates globally from its offices in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Recent clients include American Express, Delta Air Lines, ExxonMobil, IBM, Mashreq, McDonald’s, Nissan, Samsung, Sprint, Vale and Walmart. For more information, visit www.lippincott.com.
Contact:
Kathleen Hatfield, Lippincott,
212-521-0052, kathleen.hatfield@lippincott.com