Pininfarina is the Italian design house founded in Turin in 1930 by Battista “Pinin” Farina, known worldwide for automotive design and later expanding into architecture, product design and mobility. Its visual identity is built around two enduring elements: a crowned lowercase “f” emblem and an italicized lowercase logotype, both of which have remained central to the brand for decades.
Design and History
The crowned “f” has been the company’s symbol since the 1930s, described by Pininfarina as the “unmistakable trademark and soul of the company” since that decade, with some graphic tweaks over the years [1]. The emblem appeared in advertising as early as 1933, just three years after the company opened [2].
The italicized “pininfarina” logotype was introduced in 1961, when a presidential decree merged founder Battista’s nickname “Pinin” with the family name “Farina,” creating a new surname and company name [3]. The name change was authorized by Italian Republic President Giovanni Gronchi [4].
For the company’s 90th anniversary in 2020, Pininfarina created a special logo that kept the traditional crowned “f” and italicized logotype, adding a graphic sign composed of the number “90” and a clean, sharp line following the same trend as the font [1]. The colors remained those that have always identified the brand: blue, white and red [5].
In December 2024, Pininfarina unveiled a new logo to mark its 95th anniversary, accompanying all corporate communications and events through 2025 [3]. The crowned “f” received a lighter and more contemporary graphical evolution, while the italicized logotype remained intact [3]. For the entire year of 2025, the logotype is accompanied by the number “95” designed in the same red as the crown [3].
Meaning and Symbolism
The values of purity and elegance, which have historically defined Pininfarina’s identity, are the foundation of the 95th-anniversary logo [3]. The crowned “f” represents the Farina family name, with the crown surmounting the letter as a distinctive heraldic element [2]. The shield features a white upright rectangular field with a blue lowercase “F” [2].
The italicized logotype itself carries the story of the company’s naming: the founder’s nickname “Pinin” (meaning “little” in Piedmontese) was fused with “Farina” by presidential decree in 1961, creating the single-word surname and company name [3].
Typography and Design
The Pininfarina logotype is an italicized, all-lowercase wordmark. The 90th-anniversary logo added a graphic element: the number “90” accompanied by a clean, sharp line that follows the same trend as the font [1]. The 95th-anniversary version pairs the same italicized logotype with the number “95” in the same red as the crown [3].
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