Bruce Falconer’s lengthy but fascinating story in Sunday’s New York Times magazine takes a look at color. Specifically, Falconer writes about Pantone, the American company that turned an obscure expertise in standardizing shades into a global enterprise and a position as a fashion color king-maker. You won’t see color the same way after reading his story.
As an aviation writer, it helped me understand the lingering tempest in the aviation geek community triggered by this month’s unveiling of Lufthansa’s new brand image.
The changes were announced by Lufthansa with much fanfare as two airliners were painted in the scheme and, like rock stars, sent on a European tour. A number of industry influencers were underwhelmed, and color, specifically the elimination of a bit of yellow on the tail, appears to be the source of the disappointment.
“Why did things get to the point where your choice is beige or beige? Why does a brand even matter if the competition is identical in every single way?” Bernie Leighton wrote in Airways Magazine
Jon Walton, who writes for the industry website RunwayGirlNetwork.com, tweeted, “If I were casting aspersions, I might suggest that the people Lufthansa had redo their brand didn't really know about aviation enough to be able to discuss the emotional connection to the yellow and how paint looks under grey sky.”
Ever since designer and architect Otto Firle created the Lufthansa logo in 1918, the airline has included a crane in flight as its identifying image. It was modified in 1962 when the bird was placed within a circle and both were painted an orange/yellow, which Pantone probably has the recipe for. This symbol remained substantially the same until the new airline paint scheme was revealed three weeks ago.
The bird within the circle still flies on the tail, but now it is white against a deep blue background. The impactful yellow is gone.
Earlier this month, I spoke with Alexander Schlaubitz, head of global marketing for Lufthansa and the man behind the rebranding project. The story of one of the world’s oldest airline’s top-to-toes remake of its visual image called to mind one of those home repair projects that start out modestly and progress to the point that, the next thing you know, the house is stripped to the studs.
Rebranding Lufthansa for its second century was about harmonizing the way it looked on the variety of devices travelers use to connect. “Things were not as smooth as they could be,” Schlaubitz said. The assignment was to touch every part of the brand from product to service so that whatever window customers used to view the airline, the experience would be the same.
“The logo does not work on a small digital screen” because the space limitation distorted the image, Schlaubitz explained. Designers also wrestled with text. It was challenging to make the airline’s name look equally elegant rendered huge on the sides of a jumbo jet or on the minuscule real estate of a smart watch.
“Craftsmanship like typefont can make a difference. If it doesn’t feel nice, or doesn’t look good, it’s a drag on the brand,” Schlaubitz said. In the end, Lufthansa wound up creating its own typeface.
Ironically, the new blue and white livery that’s getting all the fuss will be less noticeable to the millions of people who connect with the airline online. The drama of the disappearing yellow is largely confined to the small community of plane spotters and aviation geeks.
Pantone’s Leatrice Eiseman, interviewed by Falconer for the Times piece, told him that color carries “inherent messages that all humans innately understand.” Further, she suggested that personalities are revealed by the colors people prefer. Fans of yellow are optimistic and hopeful, she said.
Lufthansa’s naysayers don’t sound optimistic or hopeful, but writing as someone who prefers blues and greens, I have some good news for them.
Inside the cabin and inside the airport, Lufthansa has big plans for yellow. Splashes of the sunny hue will appear on employee uniforms, boarding passes, airport signage and, best of all, passenger treats like chocolates. Call me optimistic because that sounds like a double dose of cheerful.
