YPE
IN THE SKY
TYPE
N TTH HEE SSK KYY IIN
CONTENTS
6
12
Southwest
American
18
24
Spirit
Alaska
30 United
INTRODUCTION
Typography has always been an important element in design. Laying type may look easy, but it takes a lot of research and decision making to make it successful. Type is all around us; we see it every day and everywhere. One of the areas that type plays a critical role is branding. Type is the most powerful way of communication. That is why many major brands all over the world have logotype to represent them.
When it comes to the aviation industry, typography is a significant way to express a brand through its logo. There is a great variety of different models of airline, and so they have different treatments of typography. In this short publication, we will take a look at typography in different airlines in the United States, including Southwest, American Airlines, Spirit, Alaska Airlines and United. They are all well-known companies that has been operating for decades. Each of them has its own characteristic and its own message that are effectively projected on their logos, through typography.
SOU
SOUT
UTH
THWEST
“
LOVE LOVE IS IN THE AIR
“
SOUTHWEST is one of the most popular airline in the United States. It is also the world’s largest low cost airline with a huge fleet of over 700 aircraft.
From aviation perspective, they have a unique “pointto-point” operation system, which distinct them from most of the other airlines that uses the traditional “hub and spoke” operation system. However from design and branding perspective, the low cost giant does not stand out as much as its reputation.
THEIR logo features a wordmark using Helvetica Bold, with a Southwest’s aircraft illustration on top. The old logo is pretty basic; it does the job, simple and straight forward. However when it comes to the aircraft livery design, the wordmark on the tail is so bold and heavy that gives the aircraft an imbalance looking. Helvetica is a great choice for an airline logo; it is expected to deliver a clean and reliable looking that an airline should have. However, by placing the logotype in angle and squeezing it to fit so tightly between the color stripes on the tail, it gives too much weight on the back of the aircraft. For me, typography treatment on the aircraft livery design creates an intense and nervous feeling.
IN 2014, Southwest introduced a full rebrand, including their logo and aircraft livery design. Monotype and Lippincott are the agencies behind this project. They came up with a new symbol, using the heart as their new identity for the beloved airline brand. Together with the heart is a new wordmark, in which I think was very well done. The new wordmark uses a font developed from typeface Ubuntu, called Southwest Sans. The new wordmark is playful to look at, but at the same time still has a modern and approachable appearance.
Geometric proportions with minimal contrast between thick and thin that gives the typeface a contemporary look.
Blunted spurs and accentuated bowls enhance the playful character.
Directional change is reflected by a simple sharp point. From that point, the line gently arcs into a full round curve.
Stems lend structure to letterforms that help the eyes scan across lines of copy.
ACCORDING to
reflected by a simple
Monotype, Southwest
sharp point. From that
Sans have geometric
point, the line gently
proportions with
arcs into a full round
minimal contrast
curve, together with
between thick and thin
blunted spurs and
that gives the typeface
accentuated bowls
a contemporary look.
enhance the playful
Large full circles
character of the
deliver a friendly and
letterforms.
youthful feeling. One of the most important characteristics of the typeface is its directional change is
Large full circles feel friendly and youthful.
AIRLINES AMERICAN
AME
ERIC
EAGLE The Flying
FOUNDED in 1926, American Airlines has witnessed almost the entire evolution of the aviation industry. With their iconic eagle symbol, the airline's previous logo was designed by Massimo Vignelli all the way back to 1968. The project was so successful that it lasts for 45 years! The old logo used Helvetica, features a logotype with an eagle in the middle. It is simple, attractive, with the three core colors that purely represent America. San serif typeface such as Helvetica is commonly used in airline branding. It gives people a clean, safe and modern look with its simplicity. In contrast with san serif typeface, serif typeface is usually used for print when text is heavier, especially on books. They enhance the readability of large block of text. That is why serif typeface is rarely seen on airline branding.
I
n 2013, American Airlines decided to give up with their iconic logo. After merging with US Airways, they worked with FutureBrand and
later on introduced a complete rebrand. The new identity is not bad, but anytime a historic brand changes their look, it creates all sort of debating.
Massimo Vignelli did
In my opinion, the new logo has a contemporary
not like the new logo.
and modern vibe, but at the same time, it is too
When asked about
general. For the logotype, old Helvetica is replaced
his opinion, Massimo
with a custom font developed from typeface
Vignelli believed that
Frutiger, called American Sans. The word mark
the old logo was still
is in a dull grey/blue, while the old logotype
doing a great job for
was one-word AmericanAirlines, differentiated
the airline. “There was
by bright red and blue. Comparing with the old
no need to change”, he
logotype, the new one does not have that strength
said, “I will not be here
and bold feeling that American Airlines used to
to make a bet, but this
have in the past. I think the new type is somehow
(new logo) won’t last another 25 years.”
informal; it can be seen anywhere with any brand in today’s world. Move on to the symbol, thankfully American Airlines did not change their iconic eagle. But the new eagle is too abstract for me. Also, the gradient does not work in my opinion. Once again, it loses the simplicity and boldness from the old logo. The airline also brings up the other two factors of their flying symbol, which is the letter “A” and the star, hopefully their symbol has more meaning. Unfortunately, that even causes more confusing to me.
SP PI IR R P
R PI I RI
SPIRIT
“ LESS MONEY “ MORE
GO
SPIRIT has been flying as a low cost airline in the United States since 1983. With minimal onboard service, the airline’s goal is to provide the least expensive total ticket price to its customers. Even though it is considered as a “cheap” airline, their previous logo actually looks quite main stream. The logo consists of a wordmark, using Helvetica Neue with slight modification on letter “r”. The word “Spirit” is in Helvetica Neue Com 83 Ext Heavy Oblique and “airlines” is in Helvetica Neue Com 43 Ext Light Oblique. IN my opinion, this is a great font choice for Spirit. While Helvetica as we know, create that main stream and professional feeling, the oblique and modified letter “r” serves the purpose of balancing the logo, making it less “serious” and giving a friendly, playful characteristic that fit the brand’s image. Overall, it was a pretty well done logo.
REBRANDING wave hit the airline industry in around 2012 (and still going on as of 2018), everyone was changing their look to the world. Some of them came out with a better enhancement, some of them were not. Spirit was also in the game of rebranding. The airline introduced a complete rebrand in 2015. To me, I would say the campaign has both strong and weak points.
[Fig. 10]
“SKETCHY FLYING”
THE best part of the rebrand campaign is, perhaps, the color scheme. Bright yellow and black are always screaming when they go together. I am sure that Spirit’s airplanes are the one that stand out the most at the airport.
THE logotype is interesting to look at. It is rare to see an airline using a hand-written typeface for their logo. With the new logo, Spirit is trying to make the airline more friendly and approachable. The hand drawn, sketchy lettering softens the brand image. Also, a lowercase logotype helps the brand look more friendly and relaxed. However, here comes the weak point: There is chance that the logo will date quickly with that hand-written typeface. The typeface also raises some debate that it is too playful and elementary. Going from Helvetica Neue to a scratchy hand-written type, together with changing the whole color scheme from blue/ red to black/yellow is an extreme move for a rebrand campaign.
ALA ALA
SKA SKA
ALASKA AIRLINES, another well regarded low cost carrier in the United States, has a surprising long history for almost 90 years of operation. Like Spirit on the last chapter, Alaska Airlines also has a very unique logo, using a script font together with their iconic Eskimo figure. The script font works really well with the name of the airline “Alaska�. Its rustic characteristic and pointy sharp edges bring a breezy and energetic feeling, which gives the logo a unique look that represents Alaska perfectly. The typeface also matches with its symbol, the Eskimo. However, the down side of this script typeface is that it is hard to read. Since it is too styling, sometimes I feel it is a little bit aggressive looking at the logo.
THAT’S
A
laska is seemed to also realize that. In 2014,
the airline slightly
HOW WE FLY
smoothed their logo. The updated version is less rugged and easier to read. However, they keep the core characteristic of the type, which is sharp and pointy. In early 2016, the airline
once again updated
perspective. The
its serifs; smooths its
their logo. This time
new type succeeds
edges, streamlines its
is a big change. The
in making the logo
look. It has the modern
script font has been
cleaner and more
and clean taste, but
working fine for the
elegant. However,
also remains its original
last couple decades.
there is some debate
style. Especially on
However, in 2016, the
that the new logo is
letter “A” and “K”, the
old logo is considered
boring since it loses its
extended crossbar and
too “indie” for the
unique characteristics
leg carried from the
airline and it needs
from the script font.
original script gives the
to be updated with
I personally love the
type the elegant and
a more international
enhancement. The
balance feeling.
and approachable
new type eliminates
UNITED
UNITED Airlines is the world’s
third-largest
airline.
Its
logo with a globe is recognized all over the world. Their today logo is a process of a lot of works and changes in the past. The original united logo was designed by famous American graphic designer, Saul Bass, in 1974. The old logo picked a shield as its symbol, which was expected to represent the strength and stability for the airline. However the logo was widely viewed as a tulip because of its smooth curve. The tulip (or a shield) stayed with United for 36 years. In 2010, United merged with Continental, another major airline in the United States. The new alliance decided to keep the name United, but took on Continental’s brand image, which is the globe as seen nowadays. In a nutshell, it was Continental’s logo, but the wordmark was changed to United.
FLY THE FRIENDLY SKY HOWEVER, the new logo has problem. Continental uses an English typeface called Perpetua. This typeface is a beautiful and elegant serif font, which would be perfect for a book. For a major airline like United, it does not work. I will not say serif typeface is a no-no for an airline’s logo. In fact, there are many significant airlines United’s Globe symbol
out there that have a serif font for their logo. A couple examples are British Airways and Cathay Pacific. However, the serif and letter weight on these logos are different from Perpetua. The serifs on those logos are reduced, which makes those serifs look like slight curves that attach to the end of the letters. Another important aspect is the stroke weight of the letters. British Airways and Cathay Pacific logo do not have much different on the weight of the stroke, while Perpetua as seen on United/Continental’s logo has high stroke contrast within letter. TO solve the problem, the alliance later on comes up with another typeface for their new logo. They choose Futura and customs it to make their own logotype. The new wordmark is a lot more professional and fit with United’s message “Fly The Friendly Skies” and their globe symbol.