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Air France Rebranding

A new identity, replacing its last update since 1975, has been designed by Brandimage. I do like the new direction of the logo, which did seem like it needed an update.

Despite still being officially referred to as “Air France” in two words, the logo is set as one word, which is oddly confusing. Its saving grace is that the typography is quite handsome and alone worth the upgrade. Gone are the race car-like, angled stripes that didn’t quite do much for me, and instead there is a new single ribbon-like icon that is simpler and, ideally, more iconic. With enough usage and years under its belt, I’m pretty sure it will become so. Questionable whether the shadow on the ribbon is necessary, but it does add some nice, subtle depth.

As always, what are your thoughts?

Found at: BrandNew

Anna Goodson Management

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14 responded to this post

bloom said on February 11th, 2009

1975? I never would have guessed the old logo was that old. I liked it a lot and didn’t see the need for a change.
Actually, I like it way better than the new one – I think the new none looks ‘off the shelf’ and pretty plain.

We will have to wait and see, what it looks like on the planes …

Freddy said on February 11th, 2009

check out the brand new link below for the logo on a plane!

yulianyc said on February 11th, 2009

nice change. still horrible service. they left me stuck in paris once for 8 hours since my flight to italy was overbooked. their food makes me sick too since they use too much butter. did i mentioned they don’t have customer service? they should change their airline policies before they spend the money on a logo.

dsm said on February 11th, 2009

ribbon shadow aside, I like!

CharlieBing said on February 11th, 2009

Like it a lot. The typography is a real step forward, seems more solid even though it’s not as bold. I like the ribbon too, though the shadow seems unnecessary. Will be interesting to see if the shadow is used in all applications. If those colours are right, then the slightly darker blue appeals too. Nothing wrong with an thoughtful refresh after almost 35 years…

CharlieBing said on February 11th, 2009

Me again: just found this (should have looked earlier):

http://corporate.airfrance.com/en/media-library/photos-list/events/new-logo/index.html

They’ve kept the old stripes on the tailplane (brilliant!), and I especially like the initial-only version. No sign of a shadow either. Hmm. Gets better by the minute!

Drew said on February 12th, 2009

Yes I agree with dsm. The ribbon shadow was not necessary and could be confused as a smudge on an otherwise clean and contemporary logo.

yulianyc said on February 12th, 2009

i kinda like the shadow. it makes it feel like it’s levitating.

J said on February 16th, 2009

I agree with Bloom, there was no need for the change and it certainly isn’t for the better, the ribbon looks odd and i question why it’s there?

Matt said on February 16th, 2009

When I see this I can’t help but think that it looks like an airplane. This is accentuated by the fact the “A” helps identify the nose of the plane in profile and then at the tail end you had the red line that follows the profile of the plane. I can see how the drop shadow can look like a smudge…I am undetermined on that matter

Nebojsa said on February 19th, 2009

I really like the new one. The typography is way better and more modern and the fact that Airfrance is one word makes it sound really nice (in my head at least). I agree with Matt that it resembles an airplane, but even without that association – it’s still dynamic and very iconic. The only thing I don’t like is the shadow. On a small scale it looks to me as a smudge, makes me want to scratch it out from the monitor