American AirlinesRebrand

Project Overview

American Airlines is one ofthe largest airlines withan iconic look designed by Massimo Vignelli. Dating back to the late 1960’s, hislogotype captures the essence of American spirit and militaristic display ofthe freedom eagle. Duringa week workshop with Lippincott, I explored a series of brand and design strategies to develop a new approach for American Airlines. Within this process, I tried to recapture the swiftness in the eagle and youthfulness of its look as well as its audience.

About American American Airlines began asa regional airline and thenexpanded into a functionalinternational service. Their highly stylized eagle logo remained for years as wellas its distinguishable livery plane treatment in leaving the fuselage unpainted.

The overall brand experience could use an update fromthe use of red, white, and blue pinstripes and mostly gray application. Both logotype and plane treatment feel very retro. Aside from that, the employee wardrobe and ads should carry a stronger presence against its competitors within our contemporary society.

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Competitive Context

Domestic Competitors

Observing the domesticairline logos, there is a strong use of blue and red palettes to represent theAmerican image. Though each treated in variousways, a pattern of typecapitalization is prominent.AA uses all lowercase,centered typography.

By viewing a selection oftheir competitors in a domestic and international context, I uncovered agreater understanding of overall brand experience.

International Competitors

Comparing American to its international competitors, there is an apparent fluidityin the treatment of their logotypes. Aside from Swiss Airlines, the others explorea gestural representation of flight and motion.

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Competitive Context Most airlines use a bluepalette, sometime red,with a mustard yellowaccent. In each distinctway, they capture aboldness which closelyreflects their audiences.

After viewing the competitor logotypes, it is importantto closely review all othervisual treatments. Thisincludes looking at the plane exterior application, color palette, ads, website, etc.

Visual Context Map

Getting a closer look at the plane interiors, lighting,color, and advertising, there is strong consistency across applications. American’sinterior feels more subdued, their lighting being neutral as well. Other airlines have began implementing the use of backseat screens.

Delta

SouthwestVirgin

United

JetBlue

Plane Interior Map

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American

Airline Tail Study Another crucial step to the competitor exploration is the study of tail application of other airlines. By looking at both of these treatments, refined and expressive, I had to choose how American liveries can be treated.

Refined

There is a clear distinction between the corporate,refined tail studies where the logo remains fullyvisible on the tail. In theexpressive studies, theartwork experiment with crops and more abstracttail art. The goal is tofind a marriage between both studies but to focuson a common image inrelation to an audience.

Expressive

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Mood Board –Target Audience

The target audience of myrebrand appeals to the young professional seeking business opportunities on an international scale. This flyer may have a healthy, modern lifestyle with high ambitions.

My next step during thestrategy process wasto create a mood boardthat framed the roleof audience interestsand how this would relate to the new visionof American Airlines.

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Positioning/Ideation Once a target audience has been established, I createda brand positioning map that details how the new airline experience. This map also shares the uniqueness in service and qualities of the flying with American.

The five qualities of thenew American can bedescribed as dedicated,collaborative, current,cultural, efficient. Withthese characteristics theywill set the airline apartfrom its competitors.

Brand positioning Brand character Essence

Dedicated and EnthusiasticOur quality services provide an enjoyable and enthusiastic atmosphere for the young traveler.

CollaborativeWe are active educators for global business, the professional community, and curious learners.

We offer a sense of collaborative teamwork.

CurrentWe are constantly updating our innovative technology, trained on current affairs, and keep

our audience relevantly informed.

Cultural and DiverseOur services connect diverse travelers on a global scale, informing our audience on current culture.

EfficientOur airline provides fast, individualized service

for a smooth sailing flight.

Global airline foryoung professionals

Who are we?American Airlines

What is our goal?Providing a globally authentic airline for young professionals who are enthusiastic about traveling and looking for business opportunities.

What is special about us?• Access to onboard technology so that the

professional audience feels relaxed and connected to available networking services.

• Optimism supported by facts – we provide a voice in conversation.

• Devoted individuals who focus on personal experience and guide our audience to success on their business ventures.

• We are a global company that connects people from many different cultures and communities.

What do we provide our audiences?An individualized experience connecting travelers

with global opportunities.

The next step in strategywas to develop conceptideations for the overall look. I presented sixgestural iterations on the possibilities of where this look can branch from.While the brand subtlyretains each of these newcharacteristics, I wantedto was to merge qualitiesof sophistication with fastmoving swiftness.

Connection

A bridging from one community to another.

A connection to a sophisticated, modern way of American life.

A link to new worlds, newbusiness opportunities.

Route

A mapped path that is efficient in service, fluid moving.

Journeys become intertwined with iteration of transportation.

Leads from beginning to an end.

Sleek

Connected to modern trends and technology

Provides a sense of clean,smooth service.

Brand on a broader scale, the collaboration of business.

Elegant

Sophisticated belonging.Individualized great service.

A key moment where customer connects with a personal event.

Tasteful in design that is simple yet effective.

Personal

Developing an individualisticexperience to fit individual need.

The notion of a person becominga focal point within a significantly larger audience.

Swift

Exposure to diverse communities that influence modern thinking.

Forward - moving/progressive service.

Constant movement from one location to the next.

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Logo Studies Beginning with gestural marks, I used charcoaland micron brush pens.I then explored how theeagle’s features move in flight, fueled by research.

After brand positioning,I chose to simply refreshthe existing logo by keeping the eagle. However, Iredrew the eagle in a way that relates to more of aforward-moving quality.

Choosing one of my firstcharcoal studies, I began drawing multiple iterations of how the right wing can be represented. From there I crafted the bird digitally, further refining and alsoexperimenting with color.

Picked

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Type/Final logo Study Once the logo was chosen,I began setting and placing the logo with typefaces.My goal was to find a fontthat held a consistent weight correlating to the logo in organic form.

American

American

AmericanAMERICAN

Placement Studies Type Studies

When I thoroughly explored many typefaces paired with my eagle rendering, Frutiger Bold held the humanistquality I was searching for.

While refining the eagle,the navy blue and goldcombination was mostsuccessful in portrayingsophisticated characteristics of my audience. I added a slight gradient to the gold wing to represent motion and depth into space.

American

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Manipulated/Final Logotype

The position of the eagle represents expansion,flight, and unpredictable opportunities. After trying slanted and arched forms within the type, I foundthat slightly blunted feet complimented the swiftcurvatures of the wing.

Now that my logotype had an elegant organic quality,I pursued the typography a bit further. I made slight manipulation on the legs of the letterforms to reach a connectedness between an font and my drawn eagle.

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Concept One

Concept Two

Concept Three

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Plane Application Following the look of the logotype, the livery thentranslated into a uniqueapplication that signifiesthe concept of the brand.

Placement of large logotypeimproves readability andinteracts with windows.

Curved blue belly to correlate to expressive treatment of tail.

Bleed of eagle wingshows expressiveness

I explored three different directions of the airplanetreatment, ranging from refined, expressive, tohighly expressive. Whileabstracting the wingcompletely was interesting, the slightly cropped wingbest represented thenotion of sleekness.

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Kiosk Application

After experimenting withcolor palettes, I decided that the deeper blue paired with gold had a strong look and feel that compliments the former applications. I used the wing as a form oftexture instead of treating it exactly the same as the plane application.

My next stage in the livery process was to apply the American brand to kiosk.I began placing the wingwith multiple croppingand color combinations.Specifically, I looked atthe relationship of kioskand screen against thebackdrop of blue artwork.

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Credit Card Application Another form of application exploration I pursued iscredit card (signature, gold and platinum members).

Looking at the placement of the wing and how it bleeds into the card was important to stay consistent with other applications. The use of the wing as texture like the kiosk application, had strong visual impact and harmony.

GOODTHRU

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Mobile Application After designing for print, I applied my American brand to a mobile platform. Within this app, I envisioned what the cover page (and alsowallpaper) might look like if this were applied to screen.

When placing the abstract wing as the cover screen, this felt a bit flat in terms incomparison to previous art.I then laid out images ofabstracted horizons to then represent opportunity.The final application screensdisplay a rich color palette corresponding to the restof the American brand.

GOODTHRU

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Poster/Billboard Application To make this brand feel more real, I applied the same imagery from mobileto poster and billboard.My intention was to draw inspiration from the warmhues of my mood board rather than sticking just to the standard blue and gold.

By having the promotional material illustrate essenceof opportunity throughimagery, the message ofthe brand begins to cometo life. The taglines I chose reflect the idea of thisairline being a bridge forall professional ventures.

GOODTHRU

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Marisa BohlmannLippincott WorkshopSpring 2012University of the Arts