Ahead of its 100th birthday in September, IFA has unveiled a new logo design that is more than just a visual makeover.
Over the past six months, IFA Management GmbH, in cooperation with shareholders – gfu Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH, owner of the IFA brand rights, and Clarion Ltd – initiated an extensive redesign process for the entire IFA brand with the support of communications agency, Highsnobiety.
The previous IFA logo had its last refresh in the early 2000s. With its many components of IFA lettering, the respective event dates and image of ‘Funk-Otto’, the stylised redhead and previous IFA trademark, was no longer up to date.
It was important for the rebranding to pay tribute to the origins of the IFA brand, while instilling future relevance. The redesign is simpler to drive recognition value with the launch of colour television in West Germany – a historic IFA milestone – serving as the inspiration for the new design.
The then Vice-Chancellor Willy Brandt pressed the symbolic red button at IFA in 1967, marking the start of a new era in the TV business in the state. This turning point gave rise to the idea of developing a colour scheme similar to the TV test pattern.
This colour palette pays homage to important consumer electronics of the past, while keeping it current, contemporary, and future-oriented. Ultimately, the design is aimed equally at both consumer electronics and household appliances, the latter of which have been an elementary component of IFA for over 15 years.
The ‘Funk-Otto’ remains an integral part of the new design but will no longer feature in the main logo. Instead, exhibitors and trade fair visitors will encounter him on various, specific occasions from now on. The iconic head, created by German graphic designer, Professor Helmut Lortz, is celebrating its 70th birthday this year.
Another part of IFA’s origins is the name ‘Internationale Funkausstellung’ from which the three letters IFA are derived. This name remains familiar to many people and is therefore part of a new logo variant. Going forward, the three letters will now stand for ‘Innovation für Alle’ or ‘Innovation For All’.
The new graphic design and motto signal both accessibility and transparency as IFA wants to appeal to a global and diverse audience. This also applies to the values that IFA and its organiser represent: that IFA should be a place where everyone can discover and experience innovation.
IFA Management GmbH CEO, Leif Lindner said, “We are all currently in a dynamic phase, socially, politically and economically. At the same time, innovation is accelerating at a technical level due to the constant development of artificial intelligence.
“Moods are currently more diverse and complex than they were in the last decade, for example. With our entire brand design, we want to ensure that exhibitors and consumers can celebrate technology and innovation again. We are in a state of flux. Just as the radio, the colour TV and the Internet have changed the world forever, AI, VR and quantum computing will once again bring us into a new era.
“IFA, with its new brand, is set to become a place that fascinates and surprises people and gives them a glimpse into their own future – at least in terms of products and applications that will have a significant impact on their lives.”
gfu Consumer & Home Electronics GmbH, the owner of the IFA brand rights, managing director, Dr. Sara Warneke commented, “Innovation is the reason why IFA has been taking place for 100 years. That’s why it was important for us to rebrand in a way that reflects this path. The new textual and visual brand takes this into account. This logo clearly sets us apart from trade fairs whose portfolio overlaps with that of IFA. There is a much higher recognition value with which we will strengthen the IFA brand. At the same time, the changes will continue to show where we started from.”