Creating the Hyundai "Look"

You know it when you see it. There are certain brands of cars that always seem to be instantly recognizable, with or without their logos. They just have that "look" that extends across every single one of their vehicles. It's a look that unifies the entire brand, and in turn helps make vehicle owners just a little more proud of their car and proud of themselves for making the purchase. Two brands that immediately come to mind, for instance, are Audi and Cadillac. For plenty of people, you wouldn't have to see the logos to know who makes these cars. Just the grill and arrangement of the headlights is enough to give it away.




Well Hyundai is trying to do the same thing. Here's an excerpt from the Wall Street Journal about Hyundai's efforts to create a brand "look".

"...the company attempts to end its long streak of a safe-looking, me-too cars and sport-utility vehicles. Some of the elements can already be found in the company's 2010 Tucson sports utility vehicle and 2011 Sonata sedan.

In all three vehicles, strong lines emanate from the front center in a way that's meant to represent the aerodynamic flow of an object in motion, a concept the company's designers call "fluidic sculpture."

"We want to create some provocative designs," says Oh Suk-geun, Hyundai's chief designer. "We're not going to design clean and simple shapes. We want to say something."

Now, even the company's smaller cars are getting a remake. By the middle of next year, Mr. Oh says, "We will have a certain face, a DNA.""

We couldn't agree more with this idea For one, the cars that keep a distinctive look are usually luxury brands, so it would help speak to quality. And on top of that, Hyundai owners tend to be very very loyal. We're talking absolutely dedicated to spreading the Hyundai name. It's one of the main reasons Hyundai has grown this past year when total US automotive sales (for all brands) were down 20%. Our word of mouth marketing, as in happy owners spreading the news, has been more effective than any TV commercial could possibly be. Having something else for people to cling on to, something that says "Here's a Hyundai!" could really help with that effort. So here's hoping this becomes a reality, and if the look of the 2011 Sonata is any indication (which this article suggests is the case) we're really looking forward to this change in design thinking.

Source - Wall Street Journal - Link to article - http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704754604575095102431859856.html?mod=googlenews_wsj