Freightliner Logo PNG
The American truck manufacturer Freightliner Trucks has been exceptionally consistent in its visual brand identity. At first sight, it may seem they have never changed their badge. And yet, if you compare some of their old models side-by-side, you may notice that they bear slightly different versions of the Freightliner logo.
Meaning and history
Freightliner Trucks was established in 1929 as a division of Consolidated Freightways. Since 1981, it has been the property of Daimler AG.
The product range includes vans, medium-duty trucks, and heavy-duty trucks, as well as bare chassis and cutaway chassis.
Current logo
The badge on the vehicles features the name of the brand in a plain sans serif type. The letters are slightly italicized. They consist of the strokes of almost identical thickness, which makes the wordmark look solid.
If you take a closer look, you will notice the height of the glyphs slightly varies. The central glyphs are the highest, while those on the sides are lower, which creates a 3D effect. The interplay of the silver and white highlights and the black background adds some volume, too.
The wordmark is placed inside a shape looking pretty much like an ellipse, at first sight. However, in fact, the shape is somewhat more complex due to the asymmetrical top and bottom. Also, the line forming the “ellipse” has varying thickness adding to the 3D effect.
Alternative versions
You can come across a logo where the top of the “ellipse” looks sharper and higher than on the regular one. Here, the difference in the height of the glyphs is more pronounced, too. The thickness of the border of the “ellipse” is the same over its all course. In addition to this, the silver gradient here is replaced by white.
Due to all these factors, there is much less depth in this version than in the primary logo.
White Freightliner
In the 1950s, the company started to manufacture trucks in collaboration with White Motor Company of Cleveland, Ohio. They were sold under the “White Freightliner” brand and bore a badge based on the regular Freightliner logo.
One of the versions of the logo was white with a red background. The shape of the logo was modified – it looked like a combination of a triangle with an ellipse. The word “white” in a handwritten script was added at the top.
Also, you can come across a version of this emblem where the background is black, while the word “white” is given in a regular sans serif typeface.
