How an ugly logo design can affect my buying habits

I love cars. I have always loved cars. Ever since I was a kid I played with them and eventually at the age of 13 or 14 started driving them...My infatuation began when I started collecting little cars for my little fingers.. Majorette and Matchbox were the most popular where I grew up. Eventually I graduated to the radio controlled kind you built from the ground up... the likes of Tamiya and Maisto.

Great memories.

From barn finds, to beautifully restored, pristine, museum caliber, cars I love them all. If there is a concours within 50 miles I will make every effort to attend it.

Back to my case in point regarding the title of this blog. Recently I was in the market for a new car. I started my search with the usual suspects and then I came across TESLA and their Model S. Nicely designed, some amazing features with four seats and no gas. 100% electric with a 0-60mph in less than 4.5 sec. I mean that's amazing! You can find out more about it by clicking here.

So before making any haste decisions, I waited for it to come out, so I could see it on the road. 

Obviously the design is inspired by the Jaguar XF, not a particular breakthrough car, but not ugly either. The first time I saw this new TESLA parked on the street I pulled over to take a closer look.

As I was walking around, I noticed two most distracting features of this otherwise good looking car - their insignia on the hood and trunk. Who approved this design? Who said when presented to them "YES! WOW! This is it!" who said, "This is the new brand identity for our company that will inspire and compete with the likes of BMW, Mercedes and Porsche"... With all due respect to the designer,  it looks like a 20 year old kid from some 2 year old community "design" college designed this thing. Over stylized T E S L A letters paired with a top heavy T design that resembles a T shirt.

The brand identity for TESLA T'shirts, I mean Motorcars.

I am a designer. When I look at something, I look at everything. Not just the sheet metal. The details make the design. And obviously this detail was overlooked.  If you are a car company trying to carve this futuristic design niche, you really must look at EVERYTHING and most importantly your logo, that is going to adorn every product you make. Milton Glaser, one of the most prolific graphic designers of our time, said it best when he said "the logo is the point of entry to the brand."
No grand entrance here.

Personally, I can not live with waking up everyday and going up to my car having a T'shirt for an insignia staring back at me. This ain't no Porsche crest to say the least.  It maybe the most amazing car, but the logo looks so amateurish, that it automatically diminishes the car's value to me. I maybe one in a million who think this way, but I know I am not the only one. 

Suffice to say, I opted for the tried and true, blue and white propeller.