Lada Logo

Lada Logo PNG

The Lada logo is like a majestic fast boat floating on the automobile sea. The brand’s cars are not afraid of storms and obstacles; they confidently occupy their niche and have devoted connoisseurs. The emblem shows that the company controls the entire assembly cycle.

Meaning and History

The Lada emblem has several modifications, which are associated with the image of the original Varangian ship, which denotes power, pressure, swiftness, and smoothness of the course. However, the very first sign referred to the founding plant and contained its abbreviation. The history of the logo began in the 60s of the last century.

The sign chosen for the emblem plays a very important role in the local culture. It symbolizes high speed of movement, smooth running, excellent aerodynamic characteristics, and optimal cabin capacity. Although the allegory of a water vessel does not fit well with the theme of land vehicles, they have something in common regarding transport. Therefore, the old boat remains relevant in the visual identity of Lada. In addition, its name echoes this type of boat.

1966 – 1970

Vladimir Antipin, a Russian artist, created a trial version of the emblem. It was a vertically elongated rectangle, slightly widened at the top, resembling an irregular trapezoid. Inside, there were three letters – an abbreviation for the plant’s full name of those times (Volzhskiy Avtomobil’nyi Zavod). The abbreviation VAZ (VAZ) was thin, high, rounded, and written in Cyrillic. Tellingly, at the letter “A,” the crossbar was located very low.

The appearance of two more prototypes of the modern logo dates back to this period. This is a graphic image of an ancient river and sea vessel, which forms the basis of the current name of a car brand: from the word “boat” – “lada.” Varangians, Vikings, Egyptians, and other peoples used to swim on these. The boat was oar, so it glided silently and quickly through the water. And the Russian plant was originally built on the banks of the Volga, one of the largest rivers in Russia. Hence, such a parallel arose.

On the first icon, proposed by the artist A. Dekalenkov, the boat is made in a single outline and has the shape of the Cyrillic letter “B.” The upper part is the sail; the middle part is the mast; the lower part is the ship. Then, the designer Yuriy Danilov improved his version, continuing the associative connection with the first letter of the plant’s name. He encrypted it in sails and a ship and negative space – in black background gaps. This version was later used as the official trademark mark and adorned the hood of cars. The artist also added a geometric shape in the form of a trapezoid or bell.

1970 (first version)

The first launch of the logo by Fiat was unsuccessful. The debut batch of emblems was defective because foreigners did not see the difference between the Russian “I” and the English “R,” mistakenly confusing them. As a result, the inscription “TOGLIATTI” under the rook was incorrect. For the rest, the developers almost did not interfere with the structure of the logo: they only finished painting it with a double white and black edging.

1970 (second version)

The subsequent emblem came out with a revised inscription in Cyrillic – “TOGLIATTI.” The chopped structure of the outlines of the boat has remained the same. It is rendered in short and even strokes, as in the original drawing by Yuriy Danilov.

1970 – 1974

In this version, the designers completely removed the city’s name where the car brand is located. All other elements have been retained.

1974 – 1985

The front of the rook has been widened, raised, and enlarged to match the actual size ratio. The artists depicted the mast as thin, and the sail was made less curved. In addition, they removed the trapezoidal background in the frame and replaced it with a regular rectangle, rounded the corners. The ship is still white, and the background is black.

1985 – 1993

To modernize the logo, the developers added color and volume to it. They chose blue as the main one, which most closely matches the color of the water, since the city of Togliatti, in which the production plant is concentrated, is located on the banks of the river. The logo also has a shadow in the lower right corner and a glint in the upper left. The designers extended the rectangle even more upward and outlined it with a thin edging line. They put gray strokes on the boat and sail, which gave the image a bulge.

1993 – 2002

The transition to the new millennium required a revision of the old logo concept. Designer Vladislav Pashko proposed his vision, whose version was approved. The artist removed the angular shapes and added all the streamlining elements to emphasize the high aerodynamics of the cars. As a result, a horizontal oval appeared, in which a boat with a sail resembling the English letter “V” was inscribed. The blue color was converted to the neon spectrum, and the white was left pure, without chiaroscuro.

2002 – 2007

The changes during this period were minor. The developers made the color dark blue, reduced the upper clearance between the mast and the sail, and increased the vessel’s stern, which caused it to merge with the sail.

2007 – 2015

Thanks to correctly placed highlights and shadows, the emblem has a three-dimensionality: the top and center are light, the bottom and sides are dark.

2015 – 2021

To bring the logo as close as possible to the automotive theme, designer Steve Mattin “metalized” it. To do this, he: first, he removed the blue color, the second, he used a wide range of gray. In addition, the author used the image of an old rook, adding chopped strokes to it – short and rough. He also tilted the mast slightly and extended the sail as if blown up by a tailwind. This is an allegory of wishes for success since there is a friendly phrase, “Fair wind in the sails!”. In addition, this detail gives the logo to the dynamics.

2021 – today

The Lada logo has become simple. The detailing and three-dimensionality of the vessel are a thing of the past: now, the overall outline and two-dimensionality prevail. The flat image consists of the same sailing ship as before, only it looks like a ghost, like the shadow of the previous emblem. The drawing looks like a print, with not a single smallest detail. All done in negative space inside a white oval with a gray border. The silhouette of a wind-blown sail resembles the letter “D.”

Font and Colors

Russian specialists mainly carried out the development of the identity of the Lada car brand; therefore, many Slavic concepts in it are understandable to Russian-speaking consumers. The focus on the foreign market was paid attention only after the transition to the new millennium. Therefore, in the early versions of the logo, the image of the sailing boat resembled the Russian “B,” and in the later versions – the English “V.”

A full-fledged inscription was used in the emblem only at the dawn of its appearance – in 1970. It was a thin sans serif typeface.

The corporate palette consists of discreet colors: blue and gray in several shades. Naturally, black and white are present, but not as background, but as the main ones.

Lada color codes