Landkamer Partners Blog

Tabs are Fab—Kia’s brand design language

Posted January 3, 2011 by Mark

A repeating notch or tab motif is part of the delightfully unexpected brand design language on the 2011 Kia Sportage. Yes, a Kia Sportage.

Truthfully, I was hoping to be more excited about the Chevy Volt or the Nissan Leaf design-wise, as those vehicles should be setting the pace since they are on the forefront of future auto engineering and planet-conscious product offerings.

But I was struck by the overall rhythm and eye-pleasing sheet metal of the 2011 Sportage. Not a coincidence there is a bit of Audi flavor showing through, because Kia hired Peter Schreyer from Audi several years back.

But the notch motif is something Kia has singularly integrated both into the exterior and interior design. Kia has always been known as a value brand, i.e., less expensive than the rest, good value, etc. This is a very fresh design start for Kia and one that people have been surprised by. Particularly designers.

Here are a few photos of the various notches and tabs we found throughout. The long notch detail running the length of the top of the windshield is particularly fresh. Photos don’t do it justice. Best viewed, inside and out, on the street.

Just a nice-looking composition of design work overall. Would be great if the Sportage evolved even further into a higher-mileage hybrid or all-electric vehicle. Let’s hope that’s next.