That was one thing that I was talking to a few people at work today about it. They should have taken the stripes all the way to the bottom.
Printable View
IMO it's because the rounded, swooshy feeling of the front half the plane contrasts very notably with the hard lines and edges of the tail...and there really isn't any transition. It's just one and then the other. I think if they wrapped the colors under the fuselage it would be less jarring.Quote:
Can't put my finger on it exactly- there just looks like a visual disconnect between the tail graphics and the logotype/eagle icon.
None of us get paid big bucks to do this sort of thing for a living, so leave it to the "professionals" LOL...
BTW, today on a major Aviation Photography site forum, someone said they should have gotten input from the media and the general public etc.
One thing is certain, if you EVER want to finish a project or get a new idea off the ground, make sure there are less than two people making the decision...!
If its a 757 or 767 with winglets he wont get it :tongue:. BTW I think the AA new look dosent look too bad at all. Its something different thats all I can say. I expect to catch one soon! The tail really does remind me of Cubana however the eagle logo is the only thing im not crazy about.
The fuselage looks fine. The tail is too close to Cubana. Overall I think it's a failure. I was very disappointed when Virgin changed their livery with the purple stripe in the late 90s. I was not pleased with DL's latest livery. But at the end, I got used to them. I think I will get used to this one, too.
Close tail resemblance
The new logo isn't bad, and once someone explained the elements of it, it is kind of cool - but I think a lot of people won't get it either. The tail is just a mess. It's sort of an American flag, but not really, and it looks unfinished at the bottom. If you are going to have something like that on the tail - and I don't think it fits their overall theme - there should have been one more red stripe (which would have actually ended up with 7 red and 6 white, like the American flag...) and it should have continued forward on the lower part of the fuselage. The two elements - the logo and the tail - don't go together. It's almost as if two different design teams worked on them, and they didn't meet until today's unveiling.
Of course, this way, once the US/AA merger is completed, all they have to do is repaint the tails...
Agreed. That's why I think a "committee" designed the new AA livery. The biggest insult to great graphic design is having "Too many "cooks" in the kitchen".
Gone are the days of greats like Saul Bass with his iconic logos for Continental and United with his "tulip". We gave these guys autonomy
and trusted them to do what they do best.
http://purpuleminds.files.wordpress....resized370.jpg
A quick edit to see what it may look like in Oneworld c/s :smile:
http://pictures.mannyphoto.com/photo.../i-KdS767Q.jpg
http://pictures.mannyphoto.com/photo.../i-VfbP6sR.jpg
The one world makes it look all captain america-y
Do you folks really think that AA didn't have MANY people and spend millions on consultants to come up with this?
Phil, my lowly company spent a few million on a couple of cut squares for our new brand after 200+ years of the old brand.
Some of the considerations are things like:
--Will it fit EVERYHWERE
--Will it FIT anywhere
--Does it print well
--Does it look horrible
--What does it mean in [insert Country/Language here] (see Chevy Nova in Mexico)
--Will it cost much to paint
and likely TONS many more... I love the Monday Morning Quaterbacking...
I like it and it is NOT horrible... trust me, it can be worse!!!
Created by Airliners.net BBCode Generator
They used Futurebrand to redesign their branding. Now, these guys may not necessarily be agency of record for AA. It's not uncommon for a company
to pitch out a big job like this. Futurebrand could have had the winning selection out of several agencies in the pitch. Not unusual in this day and age of "crowdsourcing".
http://www.designboom.com/design/fut...lines-rebrand/
No, the real story is they spotted a similar re paint template in one of the famous Anet speculation forums after the Airbus order and thought "gosh, since we are bankrupt now like everyone else was 10 years ago, we should do a euro trashy paint job like the rest did too before re emergence" to which they seeked out the 13 year old middle schooler who did the re-paint, gave him 5 hours in the 777 sim, a pilot hat and a certificate as form of purchase for his template and this was born... No really, this paint job is horrible, it looks like Air France, Cubana, Boeing and Greyhound had a bukakke party on an airplane. Disgusting and dissapointing.....
The badboys behind the AA rebrand>
http://www.futurebrand.com/
Maybe American should have went with the students from Hawaii
http://www.nycaviation.com/2013/01/a...on+Discussion)
OK all... I am dumb and naive and an amateur at Commercial Airline spotting and not much experience in all the great schemes ...
So, can we play a little game?
--What exactly is WRONG with the scheme. Please be as technical as possible, no gut feelings or whatever else has been said. Sayign you don't like it or it's ugly has already been said. Let's try and really technically explain why it is ugly to you or why it doesn't work aesthetically or artistically etc.
--Offer up a modification that could make the new design better. How would you improve it without a total re-design. Please use graphics ... if you're not good with Photoshop, please be as descriptive as possible but preferably, Photoshop to help us visualize
--Show us your totally new branding / design idea if you have one. What would you have done and why? Again, Photoshop or graphics please. Text explanations are hard to "imagine" unless very well described
I have already done a horrible hack job at visualizing what Oneworld could look like :tongue:
Alright, here's what I don't like:
The tail has hard edges and well defind lines, which clash with the more rounded and swooshy front two thirds. The tail also stops short of wrapping around the fuselage, which to me excentuates the clash even more.
So, A) wrap the colors around the fuselage and B) consider tapering the flag into the body...or use the edge of the flag to make the eagle taper into the body.
Jeremy, I KNOW you're good with graphics... so play along if you can :-)
I just hope Fred is reading this and takes his skills to the task !
Hi Manny- I said this earlier: "Would've been awesome to have a giant eagle on the tail swooping down with its talons extended like it was coming down for prey. Instead of the 'Cubana' design as Manny put it- that could have gone on the fuselage, behind the titles"
My photoshop skills are limited in this respect as I tend not to make major alterations to my images. If you or Fred want to take a crack at it and bring my idea to life, please feel free, I would love to see what it would look like. The Eagle would be stylized similar to Gulf Air's, in blue. Grey fuselage. Nice and thick red cheatline through the windows. "AMERICAN" in italicized blue block lettering on forward fuselage, flag design currently on the tail placed instead on rear fuselage.
I think it is worth pointing out that Futurebrand was also responsible for BA's current livery.
As for this one, I honestly don't think its that bad. The tail is definitely bold, though it does lack a certain amount of of the branding that has been applied to the front of the plane. Personally I would have worked the "eagle beak" into the line between the red and the blue (Sorry Manny, no PS skills to make that happen). I think it could potentially see an overhaul in a merger, especially given the similarities with the US livery.
That said, I think AA in general needed a drastic new look overall. The old livery was classic but dated, and honestly looking at an AA plane in the old livery makes me think more of the days of PA, TWA, Eastern, and Braniff then it does a modern airline. Bankruptcy has been all about making a "new American" and this definitely makes a step in the right direction. As we see more of their product get the new branding, I think the livery may end up fitting in better. And as somebody else mentioned, seeing a line of these tails parked at the terminal will be stunning.
As for the design being by committee, evidently that is how the silver color was picked. They flew an MD-80 into a smaller airport in Ft Worth and painted it 4 shades of silver with each one having 2 different mica flake options for a total of 8 swatches. Then they brought the executive team out and eventually matched the color with the silver of one of the SVP's cars.
Sadly I'm not :-)Quote:
I KNOW you're good with graphics
So I suck at photoshop, anyway, here goes with an attempt at descrption
I would have kept the grey fuse. since the silverbird deal is out of the question with the new planes.... I would have went with a navy blue eagle like that which already adorns the AA logo or the old AA circle logo with the eagle in it except that would span the entire verticle stab down onto the tail and forward onto the aft most fuse. I would have went with a similar blue color font on the fuse forward with the new AA logo perhaps. On the engines to match the tail I would have placed a match of the tail logo on each side of the nacelles. Lastly, for the birds with winglets, a red white and blue ribbon ripping through it to nod to the previous and timeless cheatline. The tail is the thing that really ruins it most for me, the AA logo needed to stay someplace in the identity as it is older than the now old colors of American.
I did a little survey with our graphic designers and art directors today. I showed around the new AA livery. 8 out 10 designers loved it.
Makes me think my disappointment is just because I'm too nostalgic about it and biased. By the way, several years ago we created the livery here
at Landor for Song, the Delta offshoot.
I 'll start the game :smile: Here is a poor attempt at some of the ideas I have heard...
http://pictures.mannyphoto.com/photo.../i-gKx9sjX.jpg
http://pictures.mannyphoto.com/photo...-XPXdpjR-L.jpg
I personally would have liked this. By the way, I DID NOT create this, just found it on google images and thought it was better than what American came up with.
http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphoto...17034740_n.jpg
Bravo Manny! Love both of those tails, LOVE em. And you satisfied the cheatline fanatic in me
What's the deal with the image right after that that was found on the internet? I actually like that tail design as well
Yeah I have seen that design a lot... I loved it and was hoping it was it... and thanks for the vote of confidence, William. I really thought I massacred it! lol
Manny, I also prefer your versions especially #1 to the abortion they came up with.
Kenny, I appreciate it, but mine I just can't get the tail to line up. Methinks they need a different logo / image than that of the old eagle. thanks ;-)
Also keep in mind this is RIGHT BEFORE AA apparently will merge with US Airways, and they have surely had no say in the matter.
Manny, I think you should consider a career change....or open your own consulting firm in your spare time to help out hackjob marketing firms like Futurebrands inc. In less than one day you came up with something that looks way better than what probably took them at least the last 6 months.
Not sure if this video was posted here before, but it's a nice little short by AA explaining what went into the new branding. As aviation buffs
we tend to focus on the livery, but when building a brand, or refreshing an old brand the whole picture needs to be taken into consideration-
Signage, advertising, web, environmental graphics, etc. Merger...? :tongue:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-KD0PdI1Ek&feature
While on a work related trip to Los Angeles as I was landing on Saturday afternoon I saw the rebranded American tucked way not far from where Qantas parks their aircraft on the hardstand at LAX. I figured it would depart under the cover of darkness as it has been (at least when she visited JFK and LGA). Well .... on Sunday, during some wonderful conditions and in daylight she departed off RWY 25L at LAX. She was light to say the least but about 15 or more other spotters at LAX were able to catch her leaving. Here is my shot of her:
http://mbsphotography.smugmug.com/Av...70-200mm-L.jpg
We will be the LAST to ever see her or any newly painted birds here at JFK or LGA... We stand a better chance of catching one at TEB or HPN :tongue: