For the ninth edition of my series on automotive type, I’m continuing the crest theme. This time, I’m focusing on crests from post World War II cars. Here, there’s a stronger emphasis on “coat of arms” styles. By this time, they were used for promoting the “heritage” and “tradition” of the brands. In many cases, they're entirely manufactured by the marketing team. Note the Ford crest in the lower left. It was introduced in 1950 and actually moved away from the traditional Ford Script mark. If you want to learn more, Jalopnik posted a fun article about six months ago that revealed the history behind Ford's change.
If you’re interested in digging deeper into badge type design, check out writer and type expert Steven Coles’ excellent Tumblr page, Chromeography.
Interested in a print of one of my badge photos? Visit my store and place an order.
Top row, left to right: 1946 Chrysler, 1947 Plymouth, 1948 Nash. Middle row, left to right: circa late 1940’s Crosley, 1950 Hudson, 1955 Chrysler. Bottom row, left to right: 1957 Ford, 1957 Studebaker, 1960 Imperial.