If, in your youth, you were primarily exposed to the tiny wonder created by Sir Alec Issigonis during quadrennial visits to the United Kingdom, the Mini could be a confusing thing to parse, brandwise. Some wore Morris badges, others Austin. We suppose it wasn?t unlike a young European visiting America and wondering why Chrysler Neons bore both Dodge and Plymouth badges. Now, of course, a Mini?s a Mini, unless it?s a Clubman or a Countryman. Then it?s a device the larger size of which incites criticism from clever Trevors the world ?round. Some original wag invariably calls for the BMW unit to change its name, given that nothing in the lineup currently rolls on 10-inch wheels. Naturally, that?s notgonnahappen.com, but Mini has announced a new logo. Look up! It?s flat! In the 1990s, vector-based drawing software got pretty good at offering shading options, making it simple to design a logo with perceived depth and shimmer, one that could be resized at a whim with no loss in quality. As a result, a bunch of designers did just that, simply because it was possible. And it was during that unfortunate era that BMW commissioned a rethink of the small car?s graphic identity for the launch of the modernized, embiggened Mini in 2000. It also mandated that people spell out the brand in all caps. We still think people who fall for the latter bit of branding jive are schnooks.

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