Pentagram has redesigned Rolls-Royce's visual identity, updating the iconic Spirit of Ecstasy emblem to become the car brand's main logo.
One year in the making, the new branding aims to modernise the Rolls-Royce Motor Cars company and differentiate it from Rolls-Royce Holdings, which owns the RR monogram.
Pentagram overhauled the iconic Spirit of Ecstasy emblem to become the primary logo for the company but retained the well-known double-R monogram as a nod to its history.
Rolls-Royce Motor Cars shares its name with engineering company Rolls-Royce Holdings, which is primarily known for making aircraft engines, as until 1973 the companies were one entity. Both companies are often referred to solely as Rolls-Royce and both use the RR monogram. Pentagram updated Rolls-Royce Motor Cars' branding to focus on the Spirit of Ecstasy symbol
Designed by sculptor Charles Robinson Sykes in 1911, the Spirit of Ecstasy figurine of a woman leaning forwards with her arms outstretched behind stands on the bonnet of the majority of Rolls-Royce cars.
It has gone through 11 main iterations, with the current version reduced in size and supported on a spring-loaded mechanism so that it can automatically retract if the car is hit.
To make the Spirit of Ecstasy symbol the focus of the rebrand Pentagram simplified a previous drawing of the ornament.
"It was too complex to be used on digital formats, and it didn't feel modern or well balanced anymore," said Pentagram partner Marina ...