Auto Trader

Still associated with its old print magazine, the automotive marketplace’s site needed a new look. Studio Output reveals how it gave it a full remodel.

Brief

Despite being the UK’s leading digital automotive marketplace, Auto Trader was still seen by some as a print magazine for men. Studio Output was chosen to help the company refresh its brand by creating a digital experience language for car buyers.

Close up

(1) To bring it up-to-date and in-keeping with the brand development, Output redrew the chevron device and letterforms of the Auto Trader logo. (2) Lifestyle photography adds variety and helps audiences see the benefit of a vehicle, not just the vehicle itself. (3) The new colour palette builds on the brand’s heritage. Its tones have been pushed to work across digital-first platforms, while feeling modern and insightful. (4) These illustrations provide the brand with ownable and friendly assets to quickly identify a topic or product. They build up from the UI as a consistent, flat style – adding a bold element to the toolkit. (5) Illustrations also add character to vehicle shots and help to provide more context on vehicle specialisms. (6) The typeface AT Fabriga’s large x-height aids legibility at small sizes across all audience platforms. And interesting cuts add enough character to make it ownable without complicating.

Mention ‘Autotrader’ to British men of a certain age and they’ll think of the classified ads magazine, which, at its height in 2000, was selling 368,000 copies a week. Nowadays few people turn to print when it comes to buying and selling second-hand. And so in 2013 the paper was closed and everything shifted to the website, which today is the UK and Ireland’s largest digital automotive marketplace.