LogoLounge

26

Blindfold a hapless airline passenger and seat him inside almost

any aircraft or in any airline lounge, and it’s likely he will not be

able to identify the brand environment in which he is ensconced.

Most airlines, points out Peter Knapp, executive creative director

at Landor Associates, offer their customers a bland, undifferen-

tiated experience. They all want to play it safe and are always

looking sideways at each other, not wanting to step too far out

of line.

So when British Midland came to Landor in need of brand revi-

talization, Knapp saw an opportunity for the airline to break

away from the pack and emerge as a stylish, relevant, and

unique frontrunner.

British Midland had grown from a small domestic airline into a cor-

poration beginning to offer trans-Atlantic flights. But even though

the airline was flying all over Europe and to North America, con-

sumers still viewed it as a domestic, or at best regional, carrier.

British Midland did have a lot going for it, however: an excellent

reputation for being a friendly, welcoming airline—unlike the “stern

headmistress” attitude many other outfits had—and for offering a

more relaxed, elegant, service-based flying experience. The com-

pany wanted to expand its business and become a world player,

but it was crucial to retain the softer, friendly aspect of its per-

sonality that had made it known and loved in the U.K. and Europe.

“[British Midland] is known for doing things well. What it offers is

more like sailing and less like being in a powerboat,” Knapp says.

Landor Associates

British Midland

Corporate Identity

Landor Associates’ work for bmi

cuts through and commands

attention. It stands out without

being violent.

(Top) The new bmi identity is a

smart mix of traditional British

elements like the Union Jack

and modern touches like

the fresh color scheme and

welcoming typography.

(Middle) By far the largest

canvases for exhibiting the

new identity are the bmi air-

craft. Here, the soft, languid

curve the designers call the

sailing curve is applied to the

entire craft, even in combina-

tion with the Union Jack on

the plane’s tail.

(Bottom) The elegant sailing

curve is the only decoration

this luggage tag needs. The

quiet graphics embody bmi’s

message that theirs is the more

pleasurable way to travel.