We write a lot about car logos. They're among the most recognisable designs in the world, and with pretty much every brand on the road redesigning its symbol in the last couple of years, there's been no shortage of stories to cover. But here's one we didn't see coming.
When one Twitter user shared a photo of the remarkable bruise they sustained in a minor car accident, users piled on with their own similar images. It seems a fair few road users have been unintentionally branded by their cars, in perhaps the most unfortunate example of accidental marketing we've ever seen. We're not sure even the best logos of all time would look good as, you know, injuries.
got t-boned now i’m fucking branded with the nissan logo pic.twitter.com/zoAWtmJsfKMarch 4, 2022
As Texas resident Andrea Juarez explained to Motor1, after an unfortunate collision at a four-way intersection, the Nissan badge from her steering wheel became imprinted on her forearm, like some kind of gory tattoo. And judging by the ensuing thread, the injury is less uncommon than you might think. From Jeep to Honda, it seems plenty of drivers have accidentally been branded.
I literally had the same shit happen back in 2016 but with a Hyundai logo pic.twitter.com/sEchqVZj04March 5, 2022
And it seems plenty of Twitter users, like us, can't quite believe this is such a thing. "This thread is full of car logos on people's arms from airbags going off and I NEVER KNEW THAT COULD HAPPEN I can’t stop scrolling," one user tweets. Others, meanwhile, are seeing the bruises as evidence of a pretty big design flaw. "Here's a question, car-makers: Why do you insist on putting a fancy raised logo on the centre of the steering column and then put an explosive charge airbag behind it?" One user asks.
We're not sure we fancy any of these as bruises (Image credit: Stellantis)
Of course, we don't mean to be frivolous – car accidents are no laughing matter, and there are far worse injuries out there than a painful Nissan stamp. Still, we'd prefer it if our car logo stayed on the car itself, thanks. Having a brand literally printed on your skin is certainly one way to make sure one won't forget it – we have a feeling some of the victims would fare better than that hilarious study of car logos drawn from memory. Maybe we should be relieved that so many car brands are flattening their logo (UPDATE: the new Skoda logo is one of the latest).
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Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles.
