What makes a GREAT airline livery?
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What makes a GREAT airline livery?
As we have another thread on "what's the worst colour scheme" I thought I'd use this opportunity for some more consumer testing as I am currently involved with the design of colourschemes for our new L1011 fleet.
What is your favourite airline livery? What do you think makes it stand out from the others? What would be good colours to use - and what colours are best avoided? What sort of logos look good - and others loook cr*p?
The best answers get beers at the Ash Bash!!
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Happiness is a warm L1011
What is your favourite airline livery? What do you think makes it stand out from the others? What would be good colours to use - and what colours are best avoided? What sort of logos look good - and others loook cr*p?
The best answers get beers at the Ash Bash!!
------------------
Happiness is a warm L1011
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Some thoughts..some sensible, some frivolous.
Fuselage colour.
Anything that keeps clean and hides "blemishes". (my dad is a used car salesman!!)
White is traditionally the go and I suppose fairly cheap because every one gets their planes painted white. Also, if you need to flog them quickly it is a reasonably safe colour.
Light grey doesn't look too bad either.
Any other colour may spook the customer.
Tail and Logo.
A bold colour. Red or Blue seems to be the go. The logo emblem can reflect the country of operation. eg, Ansett has a stylised "star" in it, possibly taken from the Oz flag. (I don't know, just guessing). Qantas has a kangaroo. It can also reflect the company's logo or a stylisation of it. Once again, check out Ansett. Keep that logo for every thing, stationery, uniforms etc. Keeps the association going with the customers.
Keep the logo simple. You want kids to be able to recognise it. "Look Mum, there goes the XXX plane" A mix of these two concepts seems to work well.
Contrasting colour should be subtle but simple. Try gold trim as well. Check out QF's tail for what I mean. Gold is a "safe, secure colour".
Font on the fuselage... Bold and simple. Anything too fancy is a pain to read. Shows up poorly in photographs. I personally find the website emblazoned on the fuselage a bit "off". It must work though.
You are probably thinking "what would I know?" Since we do get a few charter companies into Cairns it is rather frustrating not knowing who the company is. If the tail design is supposed to tell the world who they are then it has have failed if I can't figure out where they are from.
My thoughts only
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If you live long enough, you'll die of something!
Fuselage colour.
Anything that keeps clean and hides "blemishes". (my dad is a used car salesman!!)
White is traditionally the go and I suppose fairly cheap because every one gets their planes painted white. Also, if you need to flog them quickly it is a reasonably safe colour.
Light grey doesn't look too bad either.
Any other colour may spook the customer.
Tail and Logo.
A bold colour. Red or Blue seems to be the go. The logo emblem can reflect the country of operation. eg, Ansett has a stylised "star" in it, possibly taken from the Oz flag. (I don't know, just guessing). Qantas has a kangaroo. It can also reflect the company's logo or a stylisation of it. Once again, check out Ansett. Keep that logo for every thing, stationery, uniforms etc. Keeps the association going with the customers.
Keep the logo simple. You want kids to be able to recognise it. "Look Mum, there goes the XXX plane" A mix of these two concepts seems to work well.
Contrasting colour should be subtle but simple. Try gold trim as well. Check out QF's tail for what I mean. Gold is a "safe, secure colour".
Font on the fuselage... Bold and simple. Anything too fancy is a pain to read. Shows up poorly in photographs. I personally find the website emblazoned on the fuselage a bit "off". It must work though.
You are probably thinking "what would I know?" Since we do get a few charter companies into Cairns it is rather frustrating not knowing who the company is. If the tail design is supposed to tell the world who they are then it has have failed if I can't figure out where they are from.
My thoughts only
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If you live long enough, you'll die of something!
Guest
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Dark colours are very distinguished, BM's blue looks great, but not too practical if you leave the aeroplanes out in the hot sun and the APU isn't man enough to cool it.
Talking of BM, seen the new Sar Alliance A321? Hope that's not the future.
For the Tri-Star try 'hemp'. Used on the Air Force Nimrods to make 'em hard to see!!
Talking of BM, seen the new Sar Alliance A321? Hope that's not the future.
For the Tri-Star try 'hemp'. Used on the Air Force Nimrods to make 'em hard to see!!
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I remember an airline, of which the rig-out, the "outfit" of the a/c looked very nice in my eyes: Every a/c had its own colour all over the body, only the name of the airline ("court") was left blank. Every a/c was named "Halcyon <sun (with a yellow a/c)> or <sky (with a blue a/c)> a.s.o. Very nice looking in the former charter-world of my hometown (West)Berlin (so it was a british carrier). By the way: what happened with that carrier ? Never saw them somewhere. They had a "daughter" in the carribean world called "liat" (?) with the same outfit of a/c.
Speaking of colour schemes kids can recognise, whenever my 3yo daughter sees a Lufthansa aircraft she says "look Daddy, another one of those knife and fork planes". I don't think that's what Hans Lufta intended with the crane logo but that's what it looks like to a kid. [Have a look next time].
The all time best colour scheme? American Airlines by far. Any and every aircraft looks great gleaming in the sun. Saves weight, STANDS OUT, forces the airline to wash its aircraft occasionally, more than can be said for most these days. Pity about the crevice corrosion and the extra maintenance but nothing's perfect.
BTW "new L1011 fleet"? Bit late for that innit?
The all time best colour scheme? American Airlines by far. Any and every aircraft looks great gleaming in the sun. Saves weight, STANDS OUT, forces the airline to wash its aircraft occasionally, more than can be said for most these days. Pity about the crevice corrosion and the extra maintenance but nothing's perfect.
BTW "new L1011 fleet"? Bit late for that innit?
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Railwaysengineer:Court Line went bust in August 1974. Best fun I ever had,but I was young then and...... and some 
[This message has been edited by Captain Flashart (edited 23 March 2000).]
[This message has been edited by Captain Flashart (edited 23 March 2000).]
and some [This message has been edited by Captain Flashart (edited 23 March 2000).]
[This message has been edited by Captain Flashart (edited 23 March 2000).]
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I think light/mid grey and dark blue go well together – and Tristars look good with a two-tone upper/lower scheme. Logo should look modern, stylish and stick in the memory.
Court Line….I remember it being run by the guy in the bow tie. I think they got the first two ‘B’s’ on the UK register Tristars G-BAAA and G-BAAB (was there a C as well?). Memory is that the big new aircraft came along at a time when the IT market hit a sudden decline (was there a currency squeeze for travellers?). Also the cabin crew had colour-matched outfits to the garish paint schemes – a real nightmare if there was a last minute aircraft change
Court Line….I remember it being run by the guy in the bow tie. I think they got the first two ‘B’s’ on the UK register Tristars G-BAAA and G-BAAB (was there a C as well?). Memory is that the big new aircraft came along at a time when the IT market hit a sudden decline (was there a currency squeeze for travellers?). Also the cabin crew had colour-matched outfits to the garish paint schemes – a real nightmare if there was a last minute aircraft change
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Avoid anything small and fiddly - look at the twiddly bits around Air India's cabin windows.
I wouldn't mind a job with the Woolly Pullies, but I don't like red - come to think of it, my current employer uses that - oops!
Good colours are dark blues, black, gold & silver.
Heard stories about Titan having a new scheme that sounded quite sexy, but haven't seen it yet, just the bad acid trip blues still...
I wouldn't mind a job with the Woolly Pullies, but I don't like red - come to think of it, my current employer uses that - oops!
Good colours are dark blues, black, gold & silver.
Heard stories about Titan having a new scheme that sounded quite sexy, but haven't seen it yet, just the bad acid trip blues still...
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For what its worth I think that a white fuselage (its clean and business-like) with the underbelly painted light grey up to the wing/fuselage join (ala Lufthansa, Air New Zealand - it hides all the stains). Simple titles in elegant font which don't extend below the window line. The vertical stab should be dark color with a contrasting, simple yet memorable logo.
If you look at Lufthansa, Ansett, Continental - they all look fantastic.
Can't wait to see your 'new' L1011s!
If you look at Lufthansa, Ansett, Continental - they all look fantastic.
Can't wait to see your 'new' L1011s!
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I asked around some of my pals...
Gazza: "Birds. With big bazongas."
Alex The Hippy: "Errr... Africa? Well. Zebra stripes. Or leopardskin. Yeah. No, no... fractals. That'd be cool. Not very African, though. What else've they got down there? Kalashnikovs and diamonds? Durban Poison? Yeah! Wicked! A big dope leaf on the tail!" (thanks, Alex).
Jenny (graphics designer/artist, so she should know): "Well, representational art is coming back, so if he's flying freight he could do them up in brown paper and string. Or that flying prune thing you were banging on about last week. What else were you telling me about airlines? How about a big pile of money at the front of the aircraft, with bits of it blowing off towards a plughole at the back."
I guess if you hang out with artists, you get what you deserve...
R (not helping much)
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"...or we'll be up here all day..."
Gazza: "Birds. With big bazongas."
Alex The Hippy: "Errr... Africa? Well. Zebra stripes. Or leopardskin. Yeah. No, no... fractals. That'd be cool. Not very African, though. What else've they got down there? Kalashnikovs and diamonds? Durban Poison? Yeah! Wicked! A big dope leaf on the tail!" (thanks, Alex).
Jenny (graphics designer/artist, so she should know): "Well, representational art is coming back, so if he's flying freight he could do them up in brown paper and string. Or that flying prune thing you were banging on about last week. What else were you telling me about airlines? How about a big pile of money at the front of the aircraft, with bits of it blowing off towards a plughole at the back."
I guess if you hang out with artists, you get what you deserve...
R (not helping much)
------------------
"...or we'll be up here all day..."
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Good suggestions so far - beers all round, I think!
OK, so what do we have ... dark coloured tail(possibly including upper fuselage), and either all-over white, cream (as in Saudia and RAF Nimrods - except they call it hemp. Probably something to do with what the crews smoke to relieve boredom on those 19 hour missions!)
Simple logo and logotype, preferrably not looking like household implements. Also, ideally something that can be easily linked with the airline's name and/or ethnic origin.
Haven't seen the new Titan livery, but I did like the old one which by a strange quirk of fate had a cream all-over fuselage and deep blue tail with logo. Hang on ... just looked at Airliners.Net and there's a 146 (G-ZAPN) in a really wierd livery which looks like someone with a very severe astigmatism designed it!
Biggles - admit it. You just miss the old BA (or Caledonian!) scheme!! By the guy in the bow tie, are you talking about Vladimir Reitz? G-BAAA is with Aer Turas as EI-CNN, after having spent many years with CX.
By sheer coincidence, the two basic liveries I have been playing around with are:
1) Cream fuselage with deep blue tail and titles
and
2) Deep blue tail and upper fuselage, with thin emerald cheatline below solid colour, white belly. Titles would be in white.
OK, keep those ideas coming!!
------------------
Happiness is a warm L1011
OK, so what do we have ... dark coloured tail(possibly including upper fuselage), and either all-over white, cream (as in Saudia and RAF Nimrods - except they call it hemp. Probably something to do with what the crews smoke to relieve boredom on those 19 hour missions!)
Simple logo and logotype, preferrably not looking like household implements. Also, ideally something that can be easily linked with the airline's name and/or ethnic origin.
Haven't seen the new Titan livery, but I did like the old one which by a strange quirk of fate had a cream all-over fuselage and deep blue tail with logo. Hang on ... just looked at Airliners.Net and there's a 146 (G-ZAPN) in a really wierd livery which looks like someone with a very severe astigmatism designed it!
Biggles - admit it. You just miss the old BA (or Caledonian!) scheme!! By the guy in the bow tie, are you talking about Vladimir Reitz? G-BAAA is with Aer Turas as EI-CNN, after having spent many years with CX.
By sheer coincidence, the two basic liveries I have been playing around with are:
1) Cream fuselage with deep blue tail and titles
and
2) Deep blue tail and upper fuselage, with thin emerald cheatline below solid colour, white belly. Titles would be in white.
OK, keep those ideas coming!!
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Happiness is a warm L1011
Guest
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Guvnor, you're right I do miss that livery - just look at it now!
I don't think that was the guy. They were tied in with Clarkson's Holidays - my Dad worked for the shipping side and the guy was always known as 'Bowtie Bertie'. I think I'd recognise it if anyone suggested a name.
I don't think that was the guy. They were tied in with Clarkson's Holidays - my Dad worked for the shipping side and the guy was always known as 'Bowtie Bertie'. I think I'd recognise it if anyone suggested a name.
Guest
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Keep it simple and clean - bit like a best man's speach. The Hunting Cargo colours being case an point. That said, for sheer splendour and panache what could top the old Braniff schemes.
You could probably stick anything on a 1011 and it would still look pukka.
You could probably stick anything on a 1011 and it would still look pukka.
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Guv
Forget the Hemp. The variations we had at Kinloss went from Turd brown to Salmon pink.
white top, grey underbelly simple logo (primary colors not more than 3) Elegant sweeping curves give the impression of speed and grace. The logo or parts of it should be repeted ie fin/engines. Well this is what a graphic designer once told me. We were very very drunk.
E-me your pic's for a look
Forget the Hemp. The variations we had at Kinloss went from Turd brown to Salmon pink.
white top, grey underbelly simple logo (primary colors not more than 3) Elegant sweeping curves give the impression of speed and grace. The logo or parts of it should be repeted ie fin/engines. Well this is what a graphic designer once told me. We were very very drunk.
E-me your pic's for a look