The task was to create a new type system that is strong enough to lend the Volkswagen brand a face and that is sufficiently flexible and robust to work in every area of the company. Volkswagen ought to receive an integral 360-degree customer journey from first contact with the brand through advertising and editorial design on the website and store design to the decisive move of buying a car, defined by consistency throughout automobile manuals and car interiors, such as on speedometers and board computers.

Since 1997, Volkswagen had been working with a customized version of the famous Futura typeface, developed by Erik Spiekermann and Luc de Groot. The visual appearance of the cars has evolved ever since and – not less important – the functional requirements in the different user fields have expanded. Eventually, Futura no longer performed sufficiently enough in several components such as digital, technical manuals or cockpit screens and Volkswagen began searching for alternative typefaces. Our research included communication design agencies working for the brand as well as UI developers, technicians and office users. In another approach we analized the visual language of the automobile design itself and studied its developments over the past 80 years. We came to the conclusion that a new typeface should be inspired by the design of the cars and that it ought to carry the idea of Volkswagen: cars you can rely on, outstanding engineering and a clean design driven by functionalism.

The anatomy of the letters are pushed to a rather square basic shape, integrating a technically well-versed character with an association to the visual language of the cars. Yes, it’s about cars – but as Volkswagen attaches great value to the human individual, soft curves, open forms and little details in the letters lend the typeface warmth and friendliness. People should experience a feeling of well-being when they read headlines, manuals and other infos of Volkswagen.