AA Fantasy Rebrand

CapEd388 · Sat Sep 01, 2012 6:33 pm

I am a huge fan of a website called Brand New ( http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/ ) where they discuss corporate rebrands and identity changes. Since I have always had a passion for logos and brand application, this website fascinates me. They frequently do articles on airline rebrands. They recently covered the Air New Zealand rebrand and the Island Air rebrand (I gave them the tip on that one).

Yesterday they had a post about three "fantasy" rebrands, which designers do just for the heck of it. One of them was for American Airlines. I thought it was a pretty interesting rebrand. Of course, I don't think AA would ever go for something like it, but I guess thats why they call them "fantasy".

Over all, I think the proposed brand change and applications are very classy, edgy yet retro. Although the proposed livery is awful and I know most of you will hate it, the over all rebrand is not bad.

AA Fantasy Rebrand

http://www.behance.net/gallery/Exper...l-ID-for-American-Airlines/4258225

What do you guys think?

CapEd388

rwy04lga · Sat Sep 01, 2012 6:38 pm

A little plain, but classy. I do hope they keep the metal and not paint them.

CapEd388 · Sat Sep 01, 2012 6:42 pm

Quoting Rwy04LGA (Reply 1):

I agree. I love the bare metal too, but I think it is inevitable that they are going to have to paint their aircraft in the future.

PI4EVER · Sat Sep 01, 2012 7:11 pm

Just what AA does not need...........blAAnd. Not a stroke of red, white or blue in any design elements? Let's just take a 747....which AA does not fly....paint it the beloved white, a small caps spelling of its name and the eagle meatball on the tail....that's a fantasy flight for sure. A waste of design talent.
There is sufficient design talent by members of this website that could "one day you're in the next day you're out" this outfit.
Let's create our own Project "Runway" group.

EA CO AS · Sat Sep 01, 2012 7:12 pm

Quoting CapEd388 (Thread starter):
I know most of you will hate it

Sorry, but yes. Not a fan at all.

Independence76 · Sat Sep 01, 2012 7:14 pm

Classy, but I feel elements of it aren't vivid enough.

The all-white livery was terrible, honestly.

AA767400 · Sat Sep 01, 2012 7:17 pm

Love the website design, but not the livery. It screams JAL's new plain livery.

AS739BSI · Sat Sep 01, 2012 7:17 pm

It looks too plain with the all-white. There needs to be simplicity but it needs to be distinguishable but you don't want it standing out like a sore eye.

migair54 · Sat Sep 01, 2012 7:28 pm

it´s terribly simple and bad looking.... Are you sure someone ¨designed" that???

It looks like Air Atlanta planes but with the AA logo in the Tail... to do that is better to leave them in the green they have before painted.... hehehehehe

Current planes are awesome.... maybe just a modernisation could be very welcome but not a full new livery...

LifelinerOne · Sat Sep 01, 2012 7:33 pm

I like the corporate identity! But I don't like the proposed livery...

Cheers!

p.s. thanks for the website! Nice.

ebj1248650 · Sat Sep 01, 2012 7:57 pm

For lack of a better way to say it, the livery looks CHEAP! Come on guys. Put some color and elegant design in it. I know most A.netters will say passengers really don't care, but I'd be put off getting on an airplane that looks that bland. I'd wonder where else the airline cut corners to make a buck!

ORDJOE · Sat Sep 01, 2012 8:01 pm

No all white livery, I hate it on many planes that use it, such as the JL. The website and logo, while I like somewhat, are a bit too minimalist and look too European (not that that is a bad thing, but it is after all American Airlines).

IMHO I think they are fine with what they have.

skycub · Sat Sep 01, 2012 8:05 pm

That was hideous. Absolutely hideous.

kngkyle · Sat Sep 01, 2012 8:18 pm

As far as fantasy liveries go, I found these to be the most well done:

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifieda...inerphotos/photos/big/00015113.jpg

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifieda...inerphotos/photos/big/00015094.jpg

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifieda...inerphotos/photos/big/00015043.jpg

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifieda...inerphotos/photos/big/00014310.jpg

AA737-823 · Sat Sep 01, 2012 8:24 pm

I don't understand the woodgrain dot in the middle of everything.
"Oooh, look at the pretty beach scene.... overlaid by a round circle of fake wood, with nothing written on it."
?!?

The livery is, indeed, horrible, BUT I actually like the tail logo. Maybe if the circle was the current navy blue instead of black... with the same eagle on it.. I'd be a fan of that element.

CapEd388 · Sat Sep 01, 2012 8:28 pm

Quoting kngkyle (Reply 13):

Thanks for the links, I definitely see some liveries there that I like.

As for the original "fantasy" brand that I posted in the opening post, hate it or love it, I think we have to give credit to the designer for applying the brand in various mediums (website, livery, boarding pass etc.)

That is something that a lot of us forget, we just look at a livery and say "thats awful", I think we need to look at the entire brand package and all the applications to really make a good decision on whether we like the identity or not. After all, the livery on the aircraft is just part of the brand package.

Although I like some of the livery proposals in reply 13, I would love to see those brands applied to various mediums of the airline (ticket counter, signs, stationary, boarding pass, website, lounges etc.)

BlueLine · Sat Sep 01, 2012 8:34 pm

I'm sure everyone who lives in Williamsburg, Bucktown, and Portland will now fly AA with this branding. That livery is one plain disinterested looking model in a sexually suggestive pose away from being an American Apparel ad.

skycub · Sat Sep 01, 2012 8:45 pm

Nothing about is said "air travel" to me. It made me think of furniture.

And as far as looking at the entire brand package.... its still awful.

ghifty · Sat Sep 01, 2012 8:51 pm

Very much a fantasy. Nice graphically but completely pointless.

EA CO AS · Sat Sep 01, 2012 8:52 pm

Quoting skycub (Reply 17):
It made me think of furniture.

AeroWesty · Sat Sep 01, 2012 8:57 pm

Quoting CapEd388 (Thread starter):
What do you guys think?

Oh dear god, no. First thing I thought of was Tower Air.

futureualpilot · Sat Sep 01, 2012 9:07 pm

Too hipster, too bland for me. Pass.

Airport · Sat Sep 01, 2012 9:10 pm

It's an interesting study for an airline brand and surely I think it would work for a niche Virgin America-esque airline, but it would be a miserable failure for AA. Nothing about it pays any respect to who AA is, what their history and heritage is. Nor is there anything "American" about this design -- it could be anybody, for any airline in any part of the world. Some might identify that as a positive, but ask British Airways how that went when they adopted a non-British-centric image in 1997.

Plus that livery is dreadful. It makes me of a shady third-world airline operating a few cheap used aircraft.

Quoting BlueLine (Reply 16):

I'm sure everyone who lives in Williamsburg, Bucktown, and Portland will now fly AA with this branding. That livery is one plain disinterested looking model in a sexually suggestive pose away from being an American Apparel ad.

Perfectly said. "Plain and disinterested" sums up what this brand study communicates to me.

AA94 · Sat Sep 01, 2012 9:15 pm

Quoting BlueLine (Reply 16):
That livery is one plain disinterested looking model in a sexually suggestive pose away from being an American Apparel ad.

Quoting futureualpilot (Reply 21):
Too hipster, too bland for me. Pass.

AA has a very recognizable identity, and if they can find some way to elegantly update the current scheme while retaining the core red and blue elements, I think it will be perfect. The world does not need another Eurowhite paint scheme.

On a slightly unrelated note, I think that the "Oneworld" scheme could use some revision as well. It's not awful, but its just very bland. I think that SkyTeam has the best alliance livery by far. It's elegant and polished-looking, but still eye-catching.

VC10er · Sat Sep 01, 2012 9:15 pm

This is not a fantasy: I know that an agency was already awarded a branding assignment, I do not know the scope but AA is doing something. My source is very reliable.

iFlyLOTs · Sat Sep 01, 2012 9:35 pm

Quoting VC10er (Reply 24):
This is not a fantasy: I know that an agency was already awarded a branding assignment, I do not know the scope but AA is doing something. My source is very reliable.

This is a fantasy. What the branding agency isn't a fantasy. But what this hipster did on the re-branding website is, and absolutely dreadful at that.

INFINITI329 · Sat Sep 01, 2012 9:47 pm

Quoting kngkyle (Reply 13):

The first and second liveries are my favorite they would just would have to be in red,white and blue.

I personally think flying around the world with the word "American" on your fuselage and not incorporating red, white and blue would be greatly frowned upon.

Mcoov · Sat Sep 01, 2012 9:55 pm

Maybe American can bring back the orange lighting.

airproxx · Sat Sep 01, 2012 10:06 pm

Quoting Rwy04LGA (Reply 1):
A little plain, but classy. I do hope they keep the metal and not paint them.

Quoting CapEd388 (Reply 2):
I agree. I love the bare metal too, but I think it is inevitable that they are going to have to paint their aircraft in the future.

Quoting CapEd388 (Thread starter):
What do you guys think?

Honestly, this will always be the same old matter of personal taste, but I must say, I love everything but the aircraft livery.
I'm not against a simple, classy look, but as many people around, I'd love seeing AA keep their bare metal livery.
I don't believe it's necessary down for the "bare metal" look, I've seen a very good example on another thread some days ago. One of our folks posted a picture of a Mercedes Formula 1 showing a kind of "chrome" look. Although I know bare metal is quiet different from chrome, I'd love to see this solution applied to AA birds, instead of another boring and tasteless blank white livery.
The rest of the brand identity, is very good I think... I love it. Kinda refreshing... I love the woody look too.
It brings back the iconic American taste this airline has always have to me...

T8KE0FF · Sat Sep 01, 2012 10:15 pm

Quoting futureualpilot (Reply 21):
Too hipster, too bland for me. Pass.

American doesn't really appeal to the hipsters of today with their current branding, the hipster market could be big money for them.

On a serious note though, it'd look dreadful in 10, or even 5, years down the line.

EA CO AS · Sat Sep 01, 2012 10:25 pm

Quoting T8KE0FF (Reply 29):
Quoting futureualpilot (Reply 21):
Too hipster, too bland for me. Pass.

American doesn't really appeal to the hipsters of today with their current branding, the hipster market could be big money for them.

This is just way too generic; I know that's what the creators were obviously going for, but they overdid it, and not in a good way. It's like "Airline Brand" Airlines.

strangr · Sat Sep 01, 2012 10:41 pm

Quoting Rwy04LGA (Reply 1):
I do hope they keep the metal and not paint them.

the one thing they have to change post ch11 - if and when they come out they need to be a new lean mean company, while many want to stick with the metal, it needs to change and we all know why..

Yflyer · Sat Sep 01, 2012 10:48 pm

You know what it reminds me of (the boarding pass in particular)? New York subway signage. Just replace the eagle inside the circle with a blue letter A and it looks like a sign directing you to the platform for the A train.

"This is your captain speaking -- stand clear of the closing doors."

bluejuice · Sat Sep 01, 2012 11:09 pm

Terrible IMHO. Like something you would see in a Design 101 class at the local community college for IKEAir.

airproxx · Sat Sep 01, 2012 11:53 pm

Actually, the real fantasy here to me is AA getting back some 747-200 SUD !!!

usair330 · Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:17 am

Although fantasy. Nothing on there presents American Airlines or America. Thank God it's fantasy.

SWALUV · Sun Sep 02, 2012 12:54 am

Quoting kngkyle (Reply 13):
As far as fantasy liveries go, I found these to be the most well done:

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifieda...inerphotos/photos/big/00015113.jpg

http://www.cardatabase.net/modifieda...inerphotos/photos/big/00015094.jpg

Saw these a couple day's ago, have to say these are my favorite logo's by far! Anyway the website looks cool and the boarding passes and baggage tags look amazing but, livery WAY to bland, reminds me of UA star alliance. ( Not Hateing)

FI642 · Sun Sep 02, 2012 1:23 am

It makes the new JAL livery look amazing. (Tongue in cheek)- totally unacceptable. NO NO NO!

braniff722 · Sun Sep 02, 2012 1:26 am

I'm sorry, but this branding done by semi professionals lacks total creativity, design or beauty! In fact, I'd give any 10 year old with a MacBook better odds of coming up with something much better.

Air force gray/green C-17 have a more style than the artist conception.

These designers need to think outside the box a tad more!

ghifty · Sun Sep 02, 2012 1:37 am

It's not that bad, it's just not befitting for an airline.. let alone one that has decades of history (forgotten by this..). The whole design package would've looked a lot more appealing if they branded with "Oceanic Airlines" or something.

The GD's I know are very ego-tistical and always say, "I'll make a brand better," but fail to consider anything beyond the aesthetics..

Quoting iFlyLOTs (Reply 25):
But what this hipster did on the re-branding website is, and absolutely dreadful at that.

Hipster? That's what a lot of contemporary graphics look like. There's nothing hipster about mainstream. Do you consider Apple hipster?

Quoting iFlyLOTs (Reply 25):
This is a fantasy.

Yes.

Quoting VC10er (Reply 24):
This is not a fantasy: I know that an agency was already awarded a branding assignment, I do not know the scope but AA is doing something. My source is very reliable.

Nobody here is doubting that AA is clandestinely re-branding.. they are only doubting that what was in the OP is what AA's future branding will look like. No no-name designer is going to *this* multi-billion $ account. Period.

iFlyLOTs · Sun Sep 02, 2012 2:13 am

Quoting ghifty (Reply 39):
Hipster? That's what a lot of contemporary graphics look like. There's nothing hipster about mainstream. Do you consider Apple hipster?

I call the little things, the wood spot in the middle of everything hipster because I know no-one else that does that and its not mainstream at all.

And my "This is fantasy" statement was about the previous post that said that it wasn't fantasy.

idlewildchild · Sun Sep 02, 2012 2:19 am

The black accents are absolutely awful and would never be part of an AA theme. Red, White and Blue has to play central to brand, with blue or red the accent color. I found this cold and completely disconnected from AA.

YYZAMS · Sun Sep 02, 2012 2:46 am

it will go out and get old fast. Also stealing the perry ellis logo and putting aa in it isn't against some infringement?

Mcoov · Sun Sep 02, 2012 2:50 am

Quoting ghifty (Reply 39):
Do you consider Apple hipster?

Do I consider Apple hipster? No, but I consider those who use Apple more likely to be "hipsters," especially if they use exclusively Apple, or berate other hardware and software manufacturers.

So here's my take on the proposed redesign:
1.) I like the AAdvantage card, the boarding pass, the obverse of the luggage tag, and the website layout.
2.) Despite having said that, I despise the color scheme on everything. I don't know of many companies that have "wood paneling" as a company color. In addition, the blue is far too light. The other potential paint schemes that were posted here I dislike for that same reason: either the red or the blue was too bright, and there wasn't enough of the other color.
3.) What the hack is up with the all lowercase lettering? It may look "trendy," but it also looks...wrong, like the artist failed Kindergarten English. (Note: I see this in other places too. WTH?)
4.) The paint scheme shows no effort whatsoever. Many airlines have switched to Eurowhite, but they at least have good tail designs and some styling on the name on the side (e.g. DL, AF, JL).

cosyr · Sun Sep 02, 2012 2:59 am

I love the black and the wood, the circle around the eagle really works, but I HATE when companies use lower case for their names. What are we little kids? I think it is unprofessional, unfinished and an example of our incomplete sentences in a texting society.

lasairlinerenth · Sun Sep 02, 2012 3:20 am

Quoting BlueJuice (Reply 33):
"This is your captain speaking -- stand clear of the closing doors."

No, no, no. For those of us Americans who love the London Underground (but, perhaps, only because we don't live there and have to rely on it day in and day out), it's gotta be:

"This is your captain speaking -- mind the gap between the platform and the plane, please."

RyDawg82 · Sun Sep 02, 2012 3:26 am

The overall idea is nice, but as stated, the paint job is a total failure.
This is the very first thing that popped in my head when I saw it:

View Large View Medium
Click here for bigger photo!

Mcoov · Sun Sep 02, 2012 3:31 am

But at least Iran Air has a nice tail design. This new one is just the stylized eagle in a black circle. No thought.

TWA772LR · Sun Sep 02, 2012 3:45 am

What AA/US should do is just rename the new AA Trans World Airlines!!

Thats my fantasy!

All seriousness though, I applaud the author on his/her efforts, but it's not my cup of tea. What I have in my head is the Aeroflot silver paint combined with the United 787 swoosh. Except the white part of the swoosh will be (the way I see it) the red, white, and blue stripe and SU silver on top and bottom.

EA CO AS · Sun Sep 02, 2012 3:46 am

Interesting how all the people in the design industry fanboys and industry folks are falling all over themselves applauding it in the comments section.

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