VW California: From Icon to Brand

VW California:
From Icon to Brand

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is starting a new chapter with the introduction of the new »California« brand. The community of the popular California camper van will have a comprehensive range of services and experiences available to them. Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is creating a platform, which extends far beyond the model of the same name.

As lead agency, we supported the development of the California brand – advising the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles team in all brand development and brand management issues. Since its world premiere in 1988, the California has sold over 200,000 models – making it one of the most successful camper vans of all time. It has captured the hearts of its fans: For many, the California is synonymous with the freedom of the open road and a unique way of life.

Corporate design
Design system
Logo design

We communicate this entire world under our own California brand – a brand that stands for freedom, the outdoors and adventure.

Sandra Waidelich

CMO Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles

»Our goal is to offer customers a 360° camping platform, including everything that they would need for the perfect camping experience: campsites, accessories, service offers, events, lifestyle items and, of course, our California models. We communicate this entire world under our own California brand – a brand that stands for freedom, the outdoors and adventure,« explains Sandra Waidelich, CMO Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles.

With the newly developed California symbol, the brand gains a striking and unmistakable visual identity. Inspired by the capital »C«, its design encapsulates in a highly abstract way key California associations – sun, road, cove, wave – while leaving room for individual interpretation. Everyone who sees it can find their own California world reflected in the symbol.

We have crafted a multifaceted California universe composed of three color-coded environments: »Rugged Nature«, »Elegant Urban«, and »Atmospheric Coastline«. These worlds are enriched by stylised topographic lines, reinforcing their unique identity. With a continuously expanding range of lifestyle products, the California worlds offer flexibility and enable a more targeted, immersive engagement with each specific California audience.

California is more than a place and more than a camper van. It’s a mindset that people can experience in many different ways.

Jürgen Adolph

Director KMS TEAM Düsseldorf

Jürgen Adolph, Director KMS TEAM Düsseldorf, explains »California is more than a place and more than a camper van. It’s a mindset that people can experience in many different ways. Together with the partner agencies Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles brought on board for this project, we’ve translated this fascination into a brand design that is as flexible as it is consistent.«

In collaboration with other agencies for different touch points (website, app, permanent & temporary spaces, merchandise and campaign), we directed the development of the new corporate design to create a consistent overall system.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles

As a leading manufacturer of light commercial vehicles, the Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWN) brand is fundamentally reshaping and sustainably redefining the transport of goods, people, and services. At its production sites in Hanover (Germany), Poznań (Poland), Września (Poland), and Pacheco (Argentina), approximately 23,000 employees manufacture vehicles for both commercial and private customers. Models such as the Transporter, Multivan, Caddy, Crafter, Amarok, ID. Buzz, and the California series delight customers every day.

Within the Volkswagen Group, VWN also serves as the lead brand for autonomous driving in connection with mobility services like Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) and Transport-as-a-Service (TaaS) – fields where it actively helps shape the future of mobility.