Renault

The name came before the diamond

Renault began in 1898, and its earliest marks ranged from the founders’ intertwined initials to a gear-framed racing car. In 1923 the company put a functional grille badge on the nose of its vehicles. Angular bonnets soon encouraged an angular badge, and in 1925 the diamond became the lasting foundation of Renault’s identity.

A postwar badge states national identity

After Renault was nationalized in 1945, the emblem combined the name, diamond geometry, and formal institutional language. It was more descriptive than later versions, but it fixed the proportions and central axis that made the badge recognizable on a vehicle moving through traffic.

Vasarely makes the diamond optical

In 1972, Victor Vasarely and his son Yvaral created a wider diamond from parallel lines. The name disappeared, allowing the form to stand alone. The result connected industrial precision with Op Art and made Renault’s badge feel simultaneously mechanical and kinetic. It is one of the strongest examples of an automaker commissioning a major artist to refine an established shape.

Depth gives way to clarity

Later versions added volume, metallic surfaces, yellow framing, and then a larger vertical diamond. Those treatments helped the emblem behave like a physical grille badge, much as the marks of Volkswagen and BMW moved between dimensional and flat presentation.

The 2021 emblem reconnects two lines

Renault’s current mark returns to the idea of parallel paths. Two interlocking outlines create the diamond without gradients or a surrounding box. The company says the flat construction was built to animate well and function across screens and vehicles. It looks new while openly recalling the Vasarely era, proving that simplification can recover heritage rather than erase it.