Reported that KE is seeking to rebrand leading up to the Asiana merger and recently applied for a trademark of a new logo





https://www.ceoscoredaily.com/

Looks like bye-bye for the distinctive sky blue livery.

Looks like it'll be lufthansa style livery, dark blue tail and simple titles?

I’m not one to complain about rebrands, but good lord it looks like they are going to completely blow a legendary livery.

I like the concept. Chic. Modern

I don't like it at all.

I get what they're going for, but the new logo just kind of doesn't look like anything. Also they better not do plain white + colored tail, getting really sick of those.

Newark727 wrote:

I get what they're going for, but the new logo just kind of doesn't look like anything. Also they better not do plain white + colored tail, getting really sick of those.

I wouldn't hold my breath for anything but another boring Eurowhite livery.

Reminds me of the SABENA logo.

I posted my thoughts in the KE merger thread, but this is a better place. Ultimately I like the font, but the logo is bland (I can see the current one being a bit outdated). The color scheme and logo choice does concern me we will see another Eurowhite livery, but fingers crossed KE proves me wrong.

What a pity, the sky blue was unique in a sea of boring white at airports around the world.

I would disappointed to see the turquoise color scheme to go away.

Wee see that kind of blue everywhere, and there is not even a hint of red. This will be another Lufthansa.
Two colorful liveries will disappear from the Korean sky

ah I see the tradition of disliking new liveries is respected (sorry but that's how I feel whenever I see thread of new liveries, people will often hate them). Do we even have a pic of the livery ?

thebunkerparodi wrote:

ah I see the tradition of disliking new liveries is respected (sorry but that's how I feel whenever I see thread of new liveries, people will often hate them). Do we even have a pic of the livery ?

New liveries are disliked mostly because of how similar many are and how dull they look. KE has a very iconic look, and first impressions are that this look won't be carried over in any way.

I would prefer more colors as Koreans have a lot of raffinesse concerning colors and symbols. I very much like their government 747-8 design.
Who started this "boring might look more elegant" trend? Is there any specific designer responsible? A bit like eurowhite got boring on everybody else's aircraft after AF had done it first.

I don't agree with the idea they are similar or that eurowhite is dull, I think it make the aircraft look cleaner and I'd not say air france eurowhite is the same as lufthansa or that lufthansa is the same as LOT because of difference in color, name and tail

LAXintl wrote:

Looks like bye-bye for the distinctive sky blue livery.

Where did you find that mentioned? Their banner on their website is currently white with “Korean Air” in blue and red.

gaystudpilot wrote:

LAXintl wrote:

Looks like bye-bye for the distinctive sky blue livery.

Where did you find that mentioned? Their banner on their website is currently white with “Korean Air” in blue and red.

Nothing has changed yet. They've just trademarked a new logo, they haven't actually launched a rebrand.

This sort of "modernization" like trend of mobile phone app icons in recent years is good if you're a small app but don't think so for something like an airlines

gaystudpilot wrote:

LAXintl wrote:

Looks like bye-bye for the distinctive sky blue livery.

Where did you find that mentioned? Their banner on their website is currently white with “Korean Air” in blue and red.

I think it'd be a bit hard to read to have the proposed logi painted over their current livery background color? Anyone got a Photoshop to see how that'd work out?

Hopefully sky blue stays some how. I find this a bit simple for me - but I’m probably out of touch.

Some liveries are absolutely timeless, KE being one of them. If anything, a simple font refresh and maybe a slight modernisation of the logo would suffice.

Judging by that logo, I think a trainwreck of a redesign is coming...

Noshow wrote:

I would prefer more colors as Koreans have a lot of raffinesse concerning colors and symbols. I very much like their government 747-8 design.
Who started this "boring might look more elegant" trend? Is there any specific designer responsible? A bit like eurowhite got boring on everybody else's aircraft after AF had done it first.

I fully agree with that.
The logo does not look promising unfortunately, with the red gone and the taegeuk symbol almost vanishing...

The current Korean Air livery and corporate logos date back to 1984. The company rebranded from "Korean Air Lines" to Korean Air in the wake of the KAL 007 incident, where a KL 747 operating JFK-ANC-SEL was shot down by a Soviet MiG when it strayed off course on the ANC-SEL leg, and had overflown sensitive Soviet military installations on Sakhalin Island. That incident took place on the night of August 31st/September 1st 1983.

thebunkerparodi wrote:

I don't agree with the idea they are similar or that eurowhite is dull, I think it make the aircraft look cleaner and I'd not say air france eurowhite is the same as lufthansa or that lufthansa is the same as LOT because of difference in color, name and tail

My thoughts exactly . Humans tend to dislike any change. I quite like the crisper and modern subtle aspects of it.

Geeze, can we stop with the minimalism in logos and branding? Every company has done this, as c933103 mentioned above, to be app friendly. At some point, graphic design needs to embrace a new style and get back to something that stands out! Delta and Southwest are great examples of a re-brand that made a significant change while staying true to its roots (ex. NW and Delta merging). American is an example that at least tried something bold and almost worked. This just smacks of laziness to appear modern.

wouldnt say im a huge fan of current KAL logo but IMHO it would suck more if they did a LH/IB/EI style rebranding

it's not a bad thing, and sorry but its not lazyness, people who dislike eurowhite should really stop with this one for me, I'll give lufthansa and air france as example, lufthansa did lots of concept for their livery with diferent color, same with air france when they did their 1975 rebrand,here a french INA video showcasing the work that went in the rebranding with concept for the livery
https://youtu.be/d4DMeCmlsDw
For lufthansa, here are some example of the concept they did from the making off(who inspire me lots of what if model, same with air france, I'll do my revell 1/200 scale easykit concorde in one of them)

Just look at contemporary Cirrus liveries for comparison. I am all for new and current liveries but everybody doing the same is boring.

ContinentalEWR wrote:

The current Korean Air livery and corporate logos date back to 1984. The company rebranded from "Korean Air Lines" to Korean Air in the wake of the KAL 007 incident, where a KL 747 operating JFK-ANC-SEL was shot down by a Soviet MiG when it strayed off course on the ANC-SEL leg, and had overflown sensitive Soviet military installations on Sakhalin Island. That incident took place on the night of August 31st/September 1st 1983.

Compared to the rebranding in 1984, Korea have significantly modernized so it is understandable that they would want to rebrand, but at the same time Korean cultural have also become a strong influencer across the world, so it might not be wise to drop the traditional aspect.
Also, given the proposed merger with Asiana, if they're rebranding now does that mean they have no intention to further rebrand for any prospective merger? And would be making merger with Asiana a simple absorption of their brand without reflecting/honoring legacy of Asiana in the absorbed airlines?

thebunkerparodi wrote:

it's not a bad thing, and sorry but its not lazyness, people who dislike eurowhite should really stop with this one for me, I'll give lufthansa and air france as example, lufthansa did lots of concept for their livery with diferent color, same with air france when they did their 1975 rebrand,here a french INA video showcasing the work that went in the rebranding with concept for the livery
https://youtu.be/d4DMeCmlsDw
For lufthansa, here are some example of the concept they did from the making off(who inspire me lots of what if model, same with air france, I'll do my revell 1/200 scale easykit concorde in one of them)

Yes applause for this. I much prefer less bold and tacky designs full of paint . Unless you are an ultra low cost carrier , or a holiday airline , less is more. If you are a mainline carrier , I am of the fashion of going with a subtle elegant , nuanced look. Perhaps its my generation , every generation has their own preference, I mean just look at the colour schemes of times gone by. Fashion and the definition of beauty changes with time. What is to say when I get older , my views will have become outdated unless I too adapt my taste, which I undoubtedly hope I will.

I’m indifferent to the logo but I really like the typeface, especially compared to the current one. I don’t mind eurowhite schemes but the current blue is so striking and distinctive that I hope they don’t do away with it altogether. The Asiana livery is one of my favourites so I’ll be sad to see it go when they merge but I see the rationale for presenting a new combined entity as something fresh.

ikolkyo wrote:

I’m not one to complain about rebrands, but good lord it looks like they are going to completely blow a legendary livery.

I am one to complain about rebrands, and I have to agree with you 100%. Another full-fuselage colored livery is about to be lost to minimalism.

This kind of makes me think of Japan Airlines. They got rid of the red-crown crane and ultimately it came back. It was a good design and has been the company's logo for so long that it became an iconic image. Similarly Korean Air's red and blue logo, and the blue fuselage became the company's signature image. I would hope they preserve the red and blue logo, and see how they can modernize the others. Just like Singapore Airlines, they don't really make big changes to the already good design, just update the font and a few little subtle tweaks.

thebunkerparodi wrote:

it's not a bad thing, and sorry but its not lazyness, people who dislike eurowhite should really stop with this one for me, I'll give lufthansa and air france as example, lufthansa did lots of concept for their livery with diferent color, same with air france when they did their 1975 rebrand,here a french INA video showcasing the work that went in the rebranding with concept for the livery
https://youtu.be/d4DMeCmlsDw
For lufthansa, here are some example of the concept they did from the making off(who inspire me lots of what if model, same with air france, I'll do my revell 1/200 scale easykit concorde in one of them)

I don't get your point. No matter how many concepts LH created, or how much time they spent the end result still *looks* lazy, dull, and bland.

While I will reserve judgment for the new KE livery, the look of the logo and current livery trends do point towards another lazy, dull, and bland looking livery.

My point is that it's not lazy, the concept show they worked on it and clearly spend time and effort on the livery, I don't get how you can't get my point, are you going to say air france livery is the same because it's eurowhite despite the amount of work that went in the rebrand?

FSflyer899 wrote:

This kind of makes me think of Japan Airlines. They got rid of the red-crown crane and ultimately it came back. It was a good design and has been the company's logo for so long that it became an iconic image. Similarly Korean Air's red and blue logo, and the blue fuselage became the company's signature image. I would hope they preserve the red and blue logo, and see how they can modernize the others. Just like Singapore Airlines, they don't really make big changes to the already good design, just update the font and a few little subtle tweaks.

In JAL case, the new livery is actually worse than the one without the crane (The rising sun or whatever it was call)...talk about bland.

For KE - hoping that the Skyblue stay...it definitely make their planes a lot more distinguishable similar to KLM.

no way that logo on white and dark blue goes with the old sky blue solid fuselage. Say goodbye… its gone.

They have a fantastic livery and one of the last with any color. I’ll be very sad to see it go.

I don’t know about most here but I actually quite like it. The previous livery/ brand is way too 90s and I think the new concept is more modern which clearly shows that minimalist concept is trending when it comes to branding and liveries.

I know this is a Korean Air thread but some of my favourite brand refresh are: Cathay Pacific, American Airlines, Air France, Iberia and Qantas. Some that I really dislike most notably are Lufthansa, United (new type face). In my opinion, I think Cathay Pacific has a really clean and elegant livery but I think they could have done better with the main body rather than a euro white with the grey band along the fuselage. I think it would look good if they painted the fuselage grey- perhaps a lighter shade to what AA currently has and the previous NW scheme.

There are however some airlines that really pull off their current liveries or brand. KLM is one that really stands out. Japan Airlines also stands out. I really like the tsurumaru livery but again, pre-bankruptcy, I think the ‘Arc of the Sun’ livery was timeless.

Maybe they'll try a Lufthansa looking livery, but with a more Korean twist colorwise.

I don't like it. Too boring eurowhite. They should keep the logo they have.

thebunkerparodi wrote:

My point is that it's not lazy, the concept show they worked on it and clearly spend time and effort on the livery, I don't get how you can't get my point, are you going to say air france livery is the same because it's eurowhite despite the amount of work that went in the rebrand?

Yes.

ben175 wrote:

Some liveries are absolutely timeless, KE being one of them. If anything, a simple font refresh and maybe a slight modernisation of the logo would suffice.

Judging by that logo, I think a trainwreck of a redesign is coming...

I don't consider it timeless, in fact I think the current livery is heavily outdated and in desperate need of an update. However there's a difference between an update and an overhaul. Updates are usually liked, overhauls can only go wrong.

It seems like Korean Air hasn't learned lesson number one in livery design yet: Never start from scratch. Start from the old livery and work your way up from there. The old livery should remain recognizable in the new one, if it isn't then something is wrong and you need to go back to the point where it was.

thebunkerparodi wrote:

it's not a bad thing, and sorry but its not lazyness, people who dislike eurowhite should really stop with this one for me, I'll give lufthansa and air france as example, lufthansa did lots of concept for their livery with diferent color, same with air france when they did their 1975 rebrand,here a french INA video showcasing the work that went in the rebranding with concept for the livery
https://youtu.be/d4DMeCmlsDw
For lufthansa, here are some example of the concept they did from the making off(who inspire me lots of what if model, same with air france, I'll do my revell 1/200 scale easykit concorde in one of them)

Eurowhite doesn't have to be ugly but it depends on how it's done. There are some really great Eurowhite liveries out there, but also some that have totally failed.

It might be true that Lufthansa did lots of concepts for their livery with different colors, however the design that it was supposed to be wasn't among them. There were a lot of options, all of them just as bad as the others. It's hard to choose right when the right option isn't given.

Air France in 1975 was outdated and in need of an update. The result wasn't the best but it could have been worse, I guess it was the best they could do back then. It was an improvement from the old livery but it wasn't perfect, it could have been so much better if only they would have been given the option.

That's a failure many airlines are making these days, after Lufthansa first it was Icelandair and now Korean Air. They just can't do it right.

Aresxerexade wrote:

My thoughts exactly . Humans tend to dislike any change. I quite like the crisper and modern subtle aspects of it.

I don't agree with that, sometimes changes can be good however you need to take them one step at a time. The old should be kept recognizable in the new, that's why I said before that updates are good but overhauls are bad.

For example I liked the new Allegiant livery, it's clearly an improvement. And yet, anyone who knows the old Allegiant livery instantly recognizes the new one. That's an example of a change done right, an update from the old leading to an improved new while keeping the essence of the old.

If Korean Air wants a new livery, they should start by looking at their old livery. How can they make that more modern while still keeping the essence of the old livery? The blue top and the Pepsi-logo are key elements that should be preserved, the silver cheatline is something that could be put in a new form. And before you know it, you got something new, fresh and modern with those elements involved. Something that will be liked, unlike this new design from scratch which can go straight into the dust bin.

Finally!
Yes, most of recent rebrands where... plain.
However, the 1984 Korean air was outdated by a long shot (and it was more Pepsi than Korean air). This one feels more like a symbol of Korean culture.

God please no

What does that mean, more Pepsi than Korean Air?

crosscheckyyz wrote:

What does that mean, more Pepsi than Korean Air?

…look at the variations of the Pepsi logo…