A Visual History of the Volkswagen Golf GTI Infographic Design

Quentin James Design founder and lead designer Quentin is a self confessed petrolhead. So an infographic design project for award winning digital marketing agency Digitaloft, detailing the evolution and visual history of the Volkswagen Golf GTI was right up his street! The infographic design formed part of the search engine optimisation and digital marketing strategy for VWMotorParts.com, created by Digitaloft, with design support coming from Quentin James Design.

The original Golf GTI is widely recognised as the first real ‘hot hatch’ and was launched in the UK in 1977. Over 40 years later it’s still one of the most iconic and beloved hot hatches of all time and has given rise to numerous imitations. It laid the foundations for an entire market sector of affordable, practical and accessible performance cars which are loved by enthusiasts around the world.

The brief for the infographic design was to show how the VW Golf GTI has evolved since it’s inception in the late 1970s through to the present day model. Digitaloft provided all of the statistics and content, so it was down to Quentin James Design to create an infographic design worthy of this motoring icon.

“When I was maybe 2 or 3 years old, my Dad owned a couple of examples of the original mark I VW Golf GTI. Both were black with silver door stripes, the classic tartan fabric interior and iconic ‘Golf Ball Gear Knob’.”

Our lead designer Quentin has a history of being driven around in the cult classic GTI models. He explains: “When I was maybe 2 or 3 years old, my Dad owned a couple of examples of the original mark I VW Golf GTI. Both were black with silver door stripes, the classic tartan fabric interior and iconic ‘Golf Ball Gear Knob’. Later, he ran the mark II Golf GTI with the more powerful 16V engine. That car was white, with gold BBS alloy wheels, Recaro interior, Blaupunkt stereo and full bodykit with deeper chin spoiler and side skirts. Looking back through the history of the Golf GTI brought back a lot of happy childhood memories.”

The original Golf GTI was identified by it’s black VW badge, on a black grille, with a small silver ‘GTI’ motif, surrounded by a red pinstripe border. These design cues were incorporated into subsequent incarnations of Golf GTI with today’s model still identified by it’s unique red grille stripe. Our infographic design draws heavily on the black, red and silver GTI colour palette, with the classic mark I grille design heading the piece.

The Visual History of the Volkswagen Golf GTI Infographic Design was extremely well received and follows several other informative automotive Infographic Designs which we have created including 48 Years Of The Ford RS, the History Of The Mazda MX-5 and the Honda Type-R Timeline.

A Visual History of the Volkswagen Golf GTI

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A Visual History of the Volkswagen Golf GTI Infographic Design

November 12th, 2019

Quentin James

Our Work

"Quentin is quick to understand what you need and even helps fill in any gaps where you've not quite thought of everything."

"We have used Quentin for design work ranging from the design of infographics and websites through to a large majority of our own branding and print material."

"Quentin has provided an excellent service to Catapult PR over many years and always produces fresh and exciting treatments."

"Quentin has a great ability to create a creative piece from a vague brief."

"Quentin James Design took on the brief of producing an important presentation for us quite last minute."

"What I loved about the way in which Quentin worked is that he gave me options in terms of the design."

"I found Quentin James Design very easy to work with and understanding of my needs."

"Quentin is full of innovative ideas, works quickly and thoroughly and is a great communicator."