The history of the Ferrari logo From the Savoyard cavalry to Maranello, passing through the WW1 military aviation
A rampant black horse on a yellow background: that of Ferrari is the most famous logo in the world. Logo that summarizes the history and identity of Ferrari, whose prestige is almost religiously protected by the Maranello car manufacturer, ready to defend it from anyone who dares to compromise its good name - Philipp Plein included. And much more is concentrated in a logo than the signifier of a brand: the logo itself is an object with a history, which has been stratifying in the collective consciousness for decades and, in the case of Ferrari, even for centuries.
The first appearance of a prancing horse associated with red and speed dates back to 1692, and is found in the coat of arms of the "Piemonte Reale" cavalry regiment founded by Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy - a symbol destined to remain associated with one of the most formidable cavalry in European history as well as one of the oldest regiments of the Italian army. The prancing horse was then taken up by the best Italian aviator of the First World War, Francesco Baracca, who printed a black one on the cockpit of the 91st Airplane Squadron. Originally the horse was red (a reference to the coat of arms of the Piedmontese knights) but it became black when Baracca died.
For many decades the brand remained substantially unchanged, consolidating itself in 1994 with the Visual Identity Manual by Pierluigi Cerri which formalized once and for all the salient features of the real logo. This official codification was followed by the restyling of the Seidlcluss agency in 2002 which gave the definitive touch to the logo by optically correcting the silhouette of the horse, the position of its legs and also the rectangular point on the Ferrari "i" - probably the most distinctly different detail than the original shape of the logo.
Today, eighty-one years after its foundation, the history of Ferrari and its logo represent one of the most interesting case studies in the field of graphic design. In addition to symbolizing the prestige of the car manufacturer and the identity of the Ferrari brand, in fact, the Prancing Horse is the most direct demonstration of a cultural heritage which, in its original meanings of speed and daring, has remained substantially identical to itself from its origins until now - moving, depending on the time, to ever new areas.
