korean air

purpose

not only give an aging look of an existing airline a facelift, but also expand their brand closer into the hands of the consumers, through the creation of various tablet and phone apps and \engaging the community at large through social media.

the mark

based on the south korean flag the new mark replaces the current taegeuk yin / yang symbol with one of the trigrams that surround the yin / yang symbol.

each trigram is represented in the new brand with 건 being the foundation of this new brand.

the 건 (geon) trigram is located on the top-left corner of the flag and is represented by three solid, black lines. the meaning behind the symbol are divided into four groups, each trigram representing a facet of the whole.

each meaning is important to the rebrand concept but none more important than the meaning of “heaven” behind 건.

the mark takes flight

taking 건 as the starting point, the trigram evolved from three straight lines into lines more closely representing the trigram on the flag. wanting something a bit more dynamic, the lines were then “peeled” up one at a time to give the feeling of the lines taking off from the ground. the top line also is representative of the wing tips of a plane.

the color version will incorporate shadows under the the top two lines.

collateral

utilizing the logo mark as the unifying component of all the collateral pieces, the logotype varies between the horizontal or vertical orientation and in some cases will be left out completely, depending on the type of piece the logo mark is going on.

in addition to the logo mark and logotype, colorful ribbons are incorporated into various pieces. each of the colors taken from the korean traditional 한복 (hanbok). the ribbons on each piece flow along one of the top corners.

marketing / advertising

graphical elements, such as the the black background, ethereal blue waves, and type treatment are integrated into the marketing of korean air’s updated First and prestige classes which tout brand new seats and comfort that’s among the world’s first.

other divisions

korean air is one of the world’s largest cargo carriers so the logo mark take a cue from the trigram and incorporates 감 as the primary mark, and adding “CARGO” under the standard logotype.

korean air can also provide contracts to the government and military with special modified planes or services. the brand mark is modified to take on the 리 symbol of
the trigram within the flag, also including the coat of arms from the republic of korea arms forces.

finally, the luxury private jet services provided by korean air takes on the last of the trigrams, dropping the “korean air” logotype in favor of the simplistic, stylized 곤 mark against a simple clean background.

a brand refresh to a tired traveler