berkeley Logo - History, Design, and Meaning

berkeley logo

Company Overview

Berkeley Cars Ltd of Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, England produced economical sporting microcars with motorcycle-derived engines from 322 cc to 692 cc and front wheel drive between 1956 and 1960.

Key Information

  • Founded: 1956
  • Founder(s): Charles Panter
  • Headquarters: Biggleswade, England,

berkeley Logo Meaning and History

berkeley history logo

Berkeley brand lived for only four years, so its visual identity history is short and modest. Only one logo was designed for the brand in 1956, and it was placed on the bonnet of each car Berkeley's manufactured.

The logo featured a circular shape with a bright color combination, looking sleek and powerful. It had a wide silver frame with the brand name arched on the upper part and five five-pointed stars on the bottom. The inner circle was horizontally divided into red and gray segments with a bold white letter 'B' placed over it. The 'B' had two circles on both the upper and bottom part, balancing the main contour of the logo.

For official documents, the logo was executed in a monochrome color palette, with red replaced by black, and other parts in gray and white. On some models, the badge was entirely monochrome, resembling a seal or quality mark.

The wordmark was executed in a narrowed sans-serif typeface with capital letters placed far from each other, adding a modern and stylish touch to the composition. The font used was similar to Molde Compressed Bold, but with some modifications.

The color palette of Berkeley's visual identity was composed of silver-gray, white, and red, symbolizing strength, style, and determination. The red represented beauty, class, and design, while the gray (turning silver on car bonnets) conveyed seriousness, confidence, and luxury. This combination created a strong contrast and added a professional touch to the brand's image.

What is Berkeley?

Berkeley is a discontinued automaking brand, which was established in Great Britain in. 1956, and was focused mainly on the production of microcars. The life of the company was pretty short, and all the operations ceased already in 1960.

berkeley history logo
berkeley history logo
berkeley history logo

The wordmark, placed on the upper part of the Berkeley's emblem's outline, was executed in a narrowed sans-serif typeface with its capital letters placed far from each other. This made the neat and modest shapes of the inscription look modern and stylish, and added air and lightness to the whole composition.

As for the color palette of Berkeley's visual identity, it was composed of silver-gray, white and red, traditional colors reflecting strength, style, and determination. The delicate black elements of the badge added a professional and serious touch to the contemporary shapes of the logo, while red was the main star of the image, representing the brand's value of beauty, class, and design. Simple gray, symbolizing seriousness and confidence, turned silver on the bonnet of the Berkeley car, making the logo look sleek and luxurious.

On some of the models, the Berkeley badge was executed in monochrome, with the inner circle, the wordmark, and the five stars in white, and the frame, “B” and the separation line — in black. In this case, the logo looked completely different, resembling a seal, or a quality mark.

berkeley history logo

The clean and lightweight uppercase lettering from the Berkeley logo was set in the modern geometric sans-serif typeface with distinctive contours and slightly narrowed characters, set at a pretty large distance from each other. The closest font to the one, used in the Berkeley insignia, is, probably, Molde Compressed Bold, but with some modifications. 

As for the color palette of the Berkeley visual identity, it is based on a combination of gray and red, with some black accents, creating a stronger contrast and adding a professional touch. The red here stands for passion and quality, while silverish gray evokes a sense of excellence and confidence.

Official Resources

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