Skoda Logo

Skoda Logo PNG

The company’s cars are like an arrow flying at a target. Their wheels are fast and quiet, and their engines are built with the environment in mind. The Skoda logo conveys the message of energy efficiency, speed, and movement.

Meaning and History

The history of the Czech automobile company Skoda began in 1895; only at that time, it was called Laurin & Klement and produced bicycles. Then she took up the production of motorcycles, and only at the turn of the century – in 1905 – began to manufacture four-wheeled vehicles. The L&K logo adorned cars until the first half of the 1920s, and then the famous “Winged Arrow” of Škoda Auto appeared, which is still used today.

What is Skoda?

The Czech company Škoda Auto produces different types of cars, including hatchbacks, sedans, station wagons, and SUVs. The company was founded in 1859 and originally focused on arms production, and entered the automotive industry in 1925 after acquiring the company, Laurin & Klement.

1895 – 1905

The very first emblem has an unusual shape. In the center is a spoked bicycle wheel entwined with linden branches – a tree symbolizing the Slavs. In the middle, against the background of white and red stripes (the colors of the Czech Republic flag), is the brand name – “Slavia.” It is written in capital letters, in a thin sans serif typeface. The “L” is shaped like a bicycle handlebar, for which a top stroke has been added. Above and below the wheel are cards with the names of the company owners (V Laurin & V Klement) and the indication of its location (Mlada Boleslav).

1900 – 1905

In 1900, the company began exporting Slavia motorcycles. Then 150 copies were sent to London (UK) for the first time for Hewtson. They featured a new logo shaped like a motorcycle tank. By the way, it was there that he was located – on the side of the fuel tank. The brand name is made curly. It contains an ornament of thin white lines with inscriptions on red and white backgrounds: at the top – “Slavia,” at the bottom – “Laurin & Klement” and “Mlada Boleslav.”

1905 – 1925

This is the launch period for passenger cars’ production, so the management decided to rebrand the emblem to look spectacular on the parts and the hood. After renaming it Laurin & Klement, the firm commissioned Blecha to create a new logo. The authors gave it the shape of a round seal using a laurel wreath as it was very symbolic. The name of one of the founders of the company was translated as “Laurin.” In the center on a red background are two large letters – “L” and “K,” connected by an ampersand (&). A wide gold stripe runs along the edge of the logo.

1913 – 1929

In the early 1910s, a logo was created with the black inscription “Laurin & Klement” in a handwritten font. The founders’ names of the company occupied one line on an empty white background without additional decorative elements. The first “L” and the ampersand had elongated lines that curved and swirled elegantly. The rest of the glyphs also looked unusual, especially the lowercase “m,” which had its central stroke separated from the rest of the letter.

1923 – 1925

The company got a logo with a winged arrow, under which the word “ŠKODA” was written. The diacritic was not directly above the “S” but next to it – offset to the left. All the letters were slightly warped, especially the last “D” and “A”: they were compressed into the shape of a white circle where the word was located along with the arrow. The elements themselves were dark blue, as was the edging ring delineating the emblem’s borders.

1925 – 1933

After a devastating fire, the car manufacturer Laurin & Klement merged with Škoda Plzeň and changed its name to get a different label. The emblem features an oval with laurel leaves and a new name in coherent italic type.

1926 – 1933

In the late 1920s and in early 1930s, a version of the logo without inscriptions was used. The designers have converted the colors so that the center circle is dark blue, while the winged arrow and broad ring are white. At the same time, the frame along the outer edge was circled with an additional blue stripe. It is worth noting that this emblem did not have a pure white color: it had a light blue tint due to a gradient that diverged diagonally from bottom to top, starting from the right side.

1933 – 1986

In 1933, the company adopted its legendary winged arrow emblem. It is inspired by Indian motives and looks like an arrow pointing to the right. Above the arrowhead are feathers, which the Indians usually add to the tails of their arrows so that they can more easily cut through the air and quickly fly forward. The white slot is a keen eye and high production precision; the circle is perfection and the globe.

1986 – 2011

After moving to the Volkswagen Group, the Czech car manufacturer again redesigned the emblem, merging its identity with its new owner. This is how a round badge with a wide black edging appeared, in which “Škoda Auto” is written in white letters. The central element remains the same – the winged arrow. Only its color has changed: green has taken the place of blue.

1993 – 1999

In 1993, the color of the Škoda Auto logo changed: two rings (wide and narrow) in the frame became light green. The main element, the winged arrow, acquired the same shade. Moreover, the central circle, a small circle in the wing, the inscriptions, and one thin ring remained white. The letters’ font and the elements’ shape have retained their former appearance.

1999 – 2011

In parallel, the 3D version of the new logo was approved. The flat logo was used for paper, advertising, and product labeling, the three-dimensional logo was used for placement on the hood.

2011 – today

The current logo contains the same elements as the older version. The developers have removed the word “Auto” and the wide dark edging, replacing it with two thin stripes – silver and black. The Škoda inscription was taken out of the circle.

The Czech company’s identity has gone through a very difficult path from classic information and text logo to a graphically accurate symbol with a clear semantic load- no wonder this brand name is recognized as one of the most successful in the automotive industry.

2022 – today

Skoda has decided to update its logo for the first time in many years. The changes affected all elements – even the winged arrow, which ceased to be three-dimensional and was repainted in a uniform dark emerald color, like the frame ring. So the designers have adapted the emblem to digital formats because two-dimensional graphics are better displayed both on mobile device displays and in print.

The redesign was aimed at highlighting the name of the Czech car manufacturer. Therefore, it is now written in oversized capital letters, and a custom block font is used for it. All glyphs look unusual. “S” and “A” have cut-out pieces, “O” and “D” are squares with partially rounded corners, and “K” has two diagonals connected with a vertical stroke by a long horizontal strip, which makes the letter look like Arrowhead. The inscription is painted in the same color as the main Skoda symbol.

Interestingly, there is no longer a separate diacritic above the Czech “Š”: it is now integrated into the upper curve of the letter, which makes it look like the English “S.” This was done for two reasons. Firstly, in this form, the logo has become symmetrical because there are no protruding elements in the word. Secondly, the disappearance of the “hook” has increased the visibility and recognition of the brand in the global market. It is assumed that the modernized Skoda logo will appear on new car models from 2024.

Font and Colors

Skoda’s older designs of visual identity used various typefaces with one thing in common – they didn’t have serifs. The only exception was the period with two letters, “L” and “K,” which had a serif’s likeness. In the current emblem, the inscription is in a typeface reminiscent of the Eurostile Extended Black font, created by Aldo Novarese and first published in URW ++.

The color palette has also radically changed. Early versions of the logo consisted of red, beige, white, brown, blue, and modern versions of silver, black and green.

In terms of color scheme, the new Škoda logo continues a long tradition: it is also green but uses a different shade – dark emerald.

Skoda color codes