BFA Capstone: WonderJet Airlines
Created as a study into airline branding and graphic design for my BFA capstone, WonderJet Airlines is a new U.S. domestic airline with the goal of breaking away from the formal, corporate visual nature of the modern day airline industry to bring back the wonder of the Jet Age. Aiming to foster new brand loyalty among younger and newer fliers, WonderJet’s solution to modern experiential issues and disgruntled passengers is to start fresh with a new airline brand that injects a little bit of retro flair while focusing on expression of a unique brand personality, language, and passenger experience through design.
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Research and Development
Branding/Identity
Experiential Design
Presentation -
Fall 2021 (conception, research)–
Spring 2022 (execution) -
Inspired + Approachable + Friendly
BRANDING
WonderJet Airlines. Fly like yesterday, today.
A name and tagline that embody the brand’s key personality traits:
inspired, approachable, friendly.
MARK: Able to stand alone, WonderJet’s mark represents the shapes of airplane windows. Three windows in a row reflect a typical number of airplane seats on one side.
LOGO: I selected Pinot Grigio Modern, a modern update to Peignot, as the primary/display typeface for WonderJet because of its soaring ascenders, a trait that reflects flight, as well as its retro aesthetic and rounded friendliness that pairs with the mark.
COLOR: Green was chosen as WonderJet’s primary brand color for its fresh, relaxing, stable nature and relatively infrequent use in the industry. It’s supported by blue (the most popular favorite color) and a neutral cream.
GRAPHIC ELEMENTS: Elements to support the brand include patterns, gradients representing the upward motions of take off and flight, and flight status indicators.
LOGO PROCESS WORK
Beginning with a competitive analysis and inspiration from shapes, shields, and lettering of classic airline logos, I sketched out possible logo ideas, keeping in mind the spirit of flight. Through sketches of planes and airport maps, experimentation with logotypes and initials, and feedback from my advisors, I landed on keeping the logo minimal and friendly with simple shapes that could be expanded to support a full brand system.
THE WONDERJET EXPERIENCE
To build out a suite of branded collateral and demonstrate what makes WonderJet different from the competition, I followed a passenger’s journey throughout the air travel experience, from exposure to boarding. My goal was to put thought and design into every touchpoint, even the barf bags.
Social media concepts, from image posts to story posts, light or dark mode. Language is casual, short, and sweet with simplistic yet bold graphics, as well as homages to the Jet Age.
Paper boarding pass. With a large family, Rustica is WonderJet’s supporting typeface.
Digital boarding pass
Concept for an eye-catching check-in counter
Designs for paper luggage tags handed out at the check-in counter. Tags featuring airport codes add a collectable aspect for frequent fliers and children.
Designs for WonderJet airplane liveries
Design for the interior cabin of the plane, prioritizing a clean and fresh, yet comforting, feel.
Patterned tie for flight attendants
Patterned scarf/kerchief for flight attendants
Amenities handed out to passengers once on-board like hand sanitizer, ear buds, and air sickness bags. Corner Store JF as the occasional script.
Snack and beverage amenities handed out on-board like napkins, coffee cups, and a signature WonderJet WonderCookie.
RESEARCH
THE JET AGE
late 1950s: Jets make their way into U.S. commercial air travel
Flying seen as glamorous, upper-class experience for which people dress up
1978: Airline Deregulation Act democratizes commercial air travel by opening up routes and fares
Prices become more competitive, luxury and complimentary features start phasing out
AIR TRAVEL TODAY
ATL: Busiest airport in the U.S., seeing 110.5 million passengers in 2019
COVID: international airline industry has lost $370 billion
FAA: “5,338 unruly passenger reports” in 2021 as of Nov. 23
Customers disgruntled and disillusioned with airlines and air travel in general
MARKET RESEARCH
Most of airline profit from business travel, but business travel down due to COVID, will likely not return to normal
Young travelers are a strong potential market for airlines as they have yet to form a brand loyalty to a single airline
Regarding COVID, younger people are less hesitant to travel
Sources: FAA, Mintel
I had great fun discovering articles on airline branding and going through the great books I found at the RIT Wallace Library, and give much thanks to the Vignelli Center and the Cary Graphic Arts Collection for allowing me to see some great pieces of airline branding history in person!
CAPSTONE SHOW
My table setup at the 2022 RIT Graphic Design BFA capstone show, featuring my airplane livery sketches and my WonderJet slide deck.
I printed and assembled a plethora of WonderJet luggage tags by hand as physical takeaways for my table.
As another physical touchpoint for my table, I designed and printed branding guidelines brochures.
Special thanks to Professors Keli DiRisio, Samantha Haedrich, and Stephen Scherer for their guidance on this project!