Assignment: improve logo deemed ineffective by instructor. Logos were randomly assigned after instructor explained why they were chosen. In this case, my instructor felt that Mazda's current logo doesn't say much about cars and it really doesn't say much about the company.

I would have to agree. It resembles a capital "M", but not really. All I can assess is that it's meant to look like wings, and I can see how that's related to cars (meaning, the logo attempts to communicate a feeling of flight while you drive this car, as though its smooth, sleek, and streamlined and fun to pilot). This, however, is a double-edged sword in that nobody flies a car. In my redesign, I strove to remove a sensation of flying per se and replaced it with a sensation of taking flight, meaning, we start on the ground but when we step inside the car we feel we can take to the heavens. Simultaneously, the redesign encapsulates more of an identity for the company in that it takes the shape of a capital "M." Overall, I'm quite proud of the design. I think it's an excellent example of my skill in logo and identity design.