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GM Logo Designer Hits HR With Hummer - At 29 Years Of Age

5K views 22 replies 13 participants last post by  Mr.Buttons 
#1 ·
The Detroit Free Press
August 7, 2020


Bianca Iacopelli, working with the logo for the all-new GMC Hummer EV. She's a creative designer at GM. (Photo: GM Design - Via The Detroit Free Press)

In 2013, Iacopelli earned a bachelor of arts degree in graphic design from College for Creative Studies in Detroit. This past May, she got her master's in sustainable design from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Iacopelli, 29, started drawing at age 5 and, given her genes, sensed her calling early. She wanted to use art to promote a "greater cause" in the world.

"I wanted my art to be translated into something that would be communicated worldwide," Iacopelli said. "To me, graphic design was a future and forward career that translated drawing on paper to a platform that was digital and had meaning and communication behind it."
Bianca Iacopelli, working with the logo for the all-new GMC Hummer EV. She's a creative designer at GM.

When she first considered a job with GM, she realized she might be able to apply her aptitude for art at a car company and use it to promote sustainability. GM intends to be an all-electric company one day in both the vehicles it sells and how it powers its facilities.

"It wasn’t until I interviewed that I realized an art degree was an extremely valued degree at GM design," she said. "That’s when I realized, ‘Wow, I could really see myself working here.' "

In May of last year Iacopelli got her big break. The automaker was planning to revive the Hummer nameplate and looked to her for help.

GM discontinued the Hummer brand of hulking off-road trucks in 2009 when the company entered federal bankruptcy. The brand's vehicles were visually striking gas guzzlers with a cult following.

But GM plans to put the name on an all-electric GMC pickup that goes on sale late next year. For GM to pin the Hummer name to an environmentally friendly truck would be tricky. Iacopelli must convey a green image without losing the machismo behind the name's heritage.

"The bulk of our work was working on this already established branding and translating it to the branding characteristics that were up and coming," Iacopelli said. "We're building this brand off of what's already been put out."

After months of research, meetings and multiple iterations of possible logos, she and her team finally said, "That’s the one. That’s the one that speaks to us the best.”

The logo is instantly memorable. GM revealed it right before halftime during the Super Bowl in February. The image is simple, but powerful. Two headlights pierce straight-on and the word HUMMER is written across a softly lit grille, all shrouded in black.

"We kept the all-cap lettering to keep the brand integrity. Yet it has a modern-geometric logo," Iacopelli said. “So when a customer sees it, it has strong legs to it … and conveys that this is the future.”








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#4 ·
Indeed. The guy parking the execs' cars in the exec garage could have done this in about 30 minutes. Talk about overkill. And I hope not, but the way she talks reminds me a bit of the late unlamented talent Melody.
 
#16 ·
This looks like an April Fool's joke entry. Something that we would joke about if Ford did it.
Perhaps this is from The Onion or the Babylon Bee?

Some weird irony here, she's 29 years old and she's basically done nothing more than slightly alter a logo that came out, wait for it............... 29 years ago.



Ever notice how rare it is for companies to promote unqualified men?

When the first goal of the position to be filled is a "label" someone out of a specific bucket or category, you've immediately done everyone a disservice.

I vehemently hate that "some people" like to give everyone a labeled, put them in segmented buckets and then brag about how righteous they are for identifying and picking someone out of a specific bucket. "Content of their character, not the color of their skin" which is how I've always looked at people, is the antithesis of that.

I hope she is really good, and hope she helps develop some amazing things for GM, but cutting the corners off of letters from a 30 year old font isn't one of them; Ford/F-150/Super Duty and Toyota/Tacoma/Tundra come to mind, any one of us are smart enough to come up with that.................

I would like to know what her collection of work is, why didn't they share any of it!? She's been at GM for 5 years, the story shows the Blazer Logo, and notes, she didn't design that, would be interested to know what ones she has done, I mean five years, has to be more than picking the font out of the owners manual, or was she picked, just because she was female?
She's being promoted as a "Whiz Kid" per Bobby McNamara and his Gang of 10 who actually did some amazing things for us during WWII. As SecDef, he was a 110% Disaster. SecDef Neanderthal would have ended that war in 48 hours. With change left over for tea time.

So just because someone is a Whiz Kid in one area--like going to school and then grad school--it doesn't necessarily mean they're a jeenyis in other departments.

GM public affairs virtue signaling.
Yes, that is Job #1 nowadays.
 
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