LAND ROVER Brand & Design Identity Study
Gejsi Tafa
LAND ROVER Brand Identity & Design Study by Gejsi Tafa
MARQUE HISTORY
Marque History
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and Rover is a British car manufacturer with its headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, United Kingdom which specialises in four-wheel-drive vehicles. It has been owned by the Indian company Tata Motors since 2008, forming part of their Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) group. It is the second oldest four-wheel-drive car brand in the world (after Jeep). The first Land Rover made its debut in 1948. It was designed with brilliant simplicity for extraordinary ability and unrivalled strength and durability. In fact, six decades on it is estimated that twothirds of all these incredible vehicles are still at work – many of them in some of the most extreme conditions and inhospitable places on earth. The Land Rover name was originally used by the Rover Company for one specific vehicle model, named simply the Land Rover, launched by Rover in 1948. Over the following years it developed into a marque encompassing a range of four-wheel-drive models, including the Defender, Discovery, Freelander, Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Range Rover Evoque. Land Rovers are currently assembled in the company’s Halewood and Solihull plants, with research and
Land Rover was made to go off-road, since its incepiton. Adverts shown in pages 4-5.
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MARQUE HISTORY
OFF-ROAD
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MARQUE HISTORY
development taking place at JLR’s Gaydon and Whitley engineering centres. Land Rover sold 194,000 vehicles worldwide in 2009.
SUPREMACY
Although the brand originates from the original 1947 model, Land Rover as a company has only existed since 1978. Prior to this, it was a product line of the Rover Company which was subsequently absorbed into the Rover-Triumph division of the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BL) following Leyland Motor Corporation’s takeover of Rover in 1967. The ongoing commercial success of the original Land Rover series models, and latterly the Range Rover in the 1970s in the midst of BL’s well documented business troubles prompted the establishment of a separate Land Rover company but still under the BL umbrella, remaining part of the subsequent Rover Group in 1988, under the ownership of British Aerospace after the remains of British Leyland were broken up and privatised.
AUTHENTICY
In 1994 Rover Group plc was acquired by BMW. In 2000, Rover Group was broken-up by BMW and Land Rover was sold to Ford Motor Company, becoming part of its Premier Automotive Group. In June 2008, Ford sold both Land Rover and Jaguar Cars to Tata Motors.
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BRAND VALUES
Brand Values
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and Rover’s preferred habitat is an open road where floods sweep away a half kilometer of tarmac in an evening, and hyenas and lion prides rest during the evening hours. Affectionately referred to as “Landys” by game rangers and sportsmen alike, the Land Rover is the ubiquitous means of travel through the harshest terrain for both the adventure traveler and the local who needs a solid vehicle to negotiate Africa’s roads on a daily basis.
GUTS
No other 4x4 in the world has managed to win the respect of both hardcore off-road enthusiasts and jet setters. This dichotomy is half the appeal of the vehicle and makes it the favorite of luminaries from all walks of life, from Queen Elizabeth to Fidel Castro, and from Sylvester Stallone, to Michael Jordan, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jackson, and Sting.
INDIVIDUALISM SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE & FREEDOM
According to the company, the Land Rover brand values are individualism, authenticity, freedom, adventure, guts, and supremacy. And indeed, drivers in Africa like to say: “You can’t kill a Land Rover.” Parts are freely available across the continent, and the essential toughness of the Land Rover has given it a special place in the hearts of people who need a 4x4 just to drive into town for groceries. The World Wildlife Federation prefers these vehicles, the South African Conservation Corporation has an entire fleet of them out in their private game 7
DESIGN & BRAND IDENTITY
reserves, and many thousands of private owners across the continent are fiercely loyal to this brand name. The owner of South Africa’s ultra-luxurious Singita Game Reserve outside Kruger Park gave his first, beloved Land Rover a full burial after replacing it with a newer model. Such loyalty to the brand is unseen before in any car manufacturer of the past, or on the present. Land Rover is absolutely one of the most iconic marques in the history of automobiles.
Design & Brand Identity
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riginaly just a minimalist, utilitarian off-roader, Land Rover has made a “little” change of direction in its course. Even though it has evolved in many directions. The companies’s models always stay true to the brand’s identity. If we have a look at Land Rover models from the past, there isn’t much to talk about styling. However, their technical excellence and their versatile, spacious and simple design made them not also easy to live with, but also beautiful in their The fact is that even without the most stylish design, old Land Rovers made their drivers love them, due to the values that constitute their prestige. Just like the original Land Rover, the
DESIGN & BRAND IDENTITY
Range Rover became an instant success. Its was such a hit that it pioneered a new class of automobile - the SUV. The Range Rover Classic was stylish and surprisingly elegant for a car of its dimensions. Not only it was beautiful, but practical and ergonomic as well. Considered a exemplary work of industrial design, the Range Rover Classic was presented at Musée du Louvre in Paris in 1970. Curious, though, how they managed to create a car with such a strong appeal, when designed not by the styling department (led by David Bache at the time), but by its engineers (Charles “Spen” King & Gordon Bashford). First versions of the Range Rover were not yet luxurious. However, after the takeover of the company by BMW, Land Rover acquired another value which identifies the cars today - luxury. With the birth of the second incarnation of the Range Rover, Land Rover clarified its vision: they created a new, prestigious, stylish identity by not sacrificing its core values which are related to its engineering excellence and technical innovation I think design is becoming more and more important because once technologies become comparable from one brand or one company to another, once engineering becomes comparable, once quality, reliability, they almost become givens... Design is now very much the key differentiator, since it resonates on an emotional level. - Gerry McGovern,
Land Rover Design Director
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DESIGN & BRAND IDENTITY
as a car. Land Rover would manufacture luxury off-roaders, cars capable of going everywhere, even on the toughest terrain, on or off-road, with style and glamour. Such qualities are manifested on the looks of its models, of course. It is important to remind the assembly quality of its products, the attention to detail, the upmarket materials such as leather or wood, or even the latest gadgetry used in the interiors of a Land Rover, which make the car feel unique, in a class of its own. The sportiness, the outrageous mechanics and the individualism are also displayed on the vertical, boxy, but accurate and elegant volumes of the exteriors. Details such the flared arches, the large wheels, the powerful shoulder line and the prominent grille, suggest sportiness, spirit of adventure, freedom, authenticy and also supremacy, values that have always been part of Land Rover’s DNA. Each Land Rover looks purpouse-built, ready to tackle the hardest rally route on the planet, to take delivery and to save
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DESIGN & BRAND IDENTITY
The grille is one of the most prominent details in a Land Rover vehicle (2013 Range Rover, p.10-11 above) . Range Rover Evoque p.10-11 below.
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DESIGN & BRAND IDENTITY
the people in need, or even to satisfy its owner by making them feel like in their own private jet or yacht. With the latest additions in the Range Rover brand (Range Rover Sport and the Evoque), Land Rover has become more fashionable, youthful and desirable. With the creation of the Evoque, a new set of target groups have been attracted by the company. For the first time, female customers are showing interest in SUVs, a sector almost unexplored by them. Evoque’s low top (almost chopped-like), its large wheels on a relatively small body, its grills and the aggressive LED headlamps show dynamism, sportiness, appeal and passion, qualities which are vital to the high success of the model.
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DESIGN & BRAND IDENTITY
Range Rover Sport, p.13 above) Range Rover Vogue, p.12-13 below.
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BIOGRAPHY
Biography First Name: Gejsi Last Name: Tafa Nationality: Albanian Birthplace: Tirana, Albania Birthday: 07/12/1992 Alma mater: Instituto Europeo di Design, Torino Course: Transportation Design My name is Gejsi Tafa, and I am an Albanian student studying Transportation Design in Italy, at Instituto Europeo di Design Torino. Since I was a kid, I have been always driven by a strange passion for automobiles, but arts have always kept the main spot in my heart. Seeking an alternative between these two, I chose to pursue studies for Car Design. I find Land Rover a very fascinating brand due to its simplicity, functionality and exceptional style, which motivated me to make this book about it. My motto is: “Ars longa, vita brevis�.
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PROGETTAZIONE GRAFICA II 째 ANNO ANNO ACCADEMICO 2012-2013