The reputation of an airline company depends on its ability to provide reliable services. And consistently providing a comfortable travel experience makes or breaks its fame. But all that comes after a customer notices the airline company and actually makes the decision to fly with it. Do you know what gets you there? Strong branding strategies, beginning with an exceptional logo. Let’s talk about logos for airlines today.
Check the Google Flights page or even the search page on popular air ticket booking sites. What do you notice? An array of airline logos! The colorful logos of the airline companies have your attention even before you read the names of the airlines.
Even before you compare the prices or apply other filters you might be drawn to your favorite airline company, merely being directed by the logo. That says enough about the importance of a good logo design for an airline company.
So, are you ready to design one for your airline company? Whether you are designing a whole new logo or looking for ideas to polish your old one, we got you covered. But before that, we’ll quickly tell you why logos for airlines are crucial details in airline marketing.
Some airline companies have different logos for their tail wing and body. If you wish to go with this approach you can have a symbol or emblem logo for the tail wing and a wordmark or combination mark logo for the body. But remember that the design will be warped to conform to the contours of the plane and design accordingly. If you wish to have just one primary logo, you can always use just the symbols or
Can you design a logo that tells your origin story? Now that’s an idea you cannot go wrong with. A bit about the backstory or the heritage of your airlines will be just enough to earn the trust of your customers. New leads will be ready to trust an airline company with a long history and existing customers will be more willing to stay loyal to a brand whose roots run deep.
Take a look at the logo of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. Being Netherlands’ flag carrier airline this one brilliantly includes a crown in the logo to reiterate its royal status.
Though this logo captures the essence of the brand’s history, it is also modernized to make the design more relevant to the times. If you look at the evolution of this airline company’s logo, you will understand how even big airline companies now prefer simpler and more efficient designs to complicated ones.
Every place has its vibe. So, if your airline logo can capture the regional vibe, then it would be a big hit. For example, what does Hawaii remind you of? Beaches, and a whole lot of colors and fresh tropical flowers, right? Doesn’t the Hawaiian Airlines logo instantly make you visualize all this? See for yourself.
Pualani (a heavenly flower), the focal point in the logo, and the rising sun behind the warm smiling face also summarize how Hawaii makes you feel. That’s a good picture to paint with a logo. If you can use this idea and create a logo that introduces your brand’s place of origin to travelers it will be a fool-proof plan.
As your brand evolves there might be a shift in what your core values are. If your revamped logo can retain portions of the old one while accommodating the new brand changes in its design then it will be a big hit.
Air France shows how you can change your logo to follow your brand’s shift in approach.
As you can see the brand has retained the color palette while making small changes to the font and supporting symbols. The red tab might remind you of an aircraft tail wing or an upward motion, either way keeping it relevant to the industry.
Though the primary symbol has become simpler now the original red and blue stripes from the 1970s logo still appear on the tail. This retains a portion of the “old” for its old customers while giving the main design a fresh look for the modern generation. This shows how the brand has been embracing the evolving trends in the market. And also represents the brand’s globalized approach.
A design that is tuned to resonate with your customers is one that will get your brand to great heights. Customers love to be pampered during their travel. They expect to feel safe and cared for. That’s how you keep them coming back. So, good airline marketing shows customers how much you care for them. If you can use your logo to convey this idea, it will strike the right chord.
Southwest Airlines does this effectively with its logo.
The wordmark is in blue, a relevant choice for airlines but it is the heart symbol that makes this logo pop. According to the brand, the red in the heart represents warmth, blue for innovation, yellow indicative of a bright future, and silver to depict the accuracy with which the airline delivers its services. One little symbol captures all the values that the brand holds at the highest priority. This is enough information for a customer to frame opinions about a brand.
Most logos for airlines have a few things in common. Most have the color blue representing the sky and also as a color seen as a symbol of trust and professionalism. Another is iconography. You see birds, airplanes, or other graphical representations of flight. If you think this is a cliched approach, take a look at the below example of Air New Zealand’s logo.
The above logo neither has blue nor the usual symbols but what is that unique symbol in the logo? With its Māori origins, this symbol is called Koru, the spiral you notice as a young fern stem unfolds. The symbol is meant to capture the fern plant’s ability to grow in tough conditions. And it is also meant to show that preserving nature is a priority for this brand.
So much value behind one little symbol! Now, that’s enough to make the logo a memorable one, isn’t it? That’s how you seek the one unique value your brand stands for and then create a symbol out of it for your airline logo.
Now that you have these ideas, if you are wondering where to begin, start with the color palette and then the fonts. If you don’t know what colors to use, using the colors from the regional flag is one idea that works for most airline companies. And when it comes to the font, choose one with a personality that is equivalent to that of your airline brand. This way, it feels more relevant and easy to use in all your designs. That’s how you design meaningful logos for airlines.
