San Francisco Airport Museums

January 2009 - August 2009

From aircraft exterior paint schemes to printed toothpick wrappers and the hundreds of items in between, commercial airlines carefully create individual identities to set themselves apart in the highly competitive air transport market. Regional, domestic, international, short-haul, and long-haul airlines acquire airplanes from the same manufacturers—and therefore operate at the same rate of speed. Since United States airline deregulation in 1978 and the increasing trend toward open skies agreements internationally, many carriers fly to the same destinations. With such similarity in their basic service, airlines conduct intensive identity programs to establish brand awareness, create perceptions of a unique passenger experience, build customer loyalty, and establish market position.

Today, the packaging of an airline is a multidisciplinary intersection of graphic design, interior design, architecture, fashion, cuisine, and marketing psychology. Many design firms specialize in corporate identity or brand science. Rarely, however, does a client present such an opportunity to create a complete, top-to-bottom look in so many mediums as an airline.

This exhibition looks at the historical development of airline identity from its simpler origins to the sophisticated level of today's practices through a variety of objects that have long been associated with the passenger experience.