Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Final Conclusions


After 15 weeks of work on the re-branding of the Italian airline Alitalia, I can say I am proud of the work accomplished. Although the deliverables are less than what would really be given to the client, the deliverables I chose to hand in express the new identity and branding of Alitalia. The process changed very much from the initial developments to the final. I believe that with the help of faculty and student collaboration, the end result was a strong concept and development. Although it may sound easy to re-brand a company, especially an airline, it is not. There is a lot of research, development and iteration that needs to be done. However, that is what makes design so enjoyable.

After gathering all my research from what current airlines, to what airlines have done in the past, seeing the competition directly with Alitalia and speaking with Alitalia itself, the new identity is much improved and can stand amongst the top airlines internationally. The audience said that the new identity still maintained the class of Alitalia and nostalgic appeal, but now had a more vibrant and fresh appeal. As well as doing the basic stationary, I developed new advertising, plane decals and a new check in service with the use of a smart phone.

The help of the audience improved my final design approach tremendously in helping find what the audience was looking for. Again, although I did not go far from my initial thoughts and concepts, the critiques from students and faculty members made the project what it is today.

Final Deliverables


Logo

The new word mark is a slight update to the previous word mark that has been in circulation for the past 8 years. Keeping with the same color palette, the new word mark now shows the name Alitalia in all capital letters and keeping the iconic red accent. The new word mark is a more modern and sleek version of the past.



Typefaces.

The typefaces used in the new branding for Alitalia are as follows:

Trade Gothic – Word Mark
Eames – Secondary typeface
Rotis – Body copy for written material and small text

Stationery

Business cards

The new business cards stay true to the standard format of 3.5in x 2in and show the word mark on the front of the card, with strictly the A on the back and the employees information. The Alitalia green is used as the dominant color.




Letterhead

The letterhead measures at European sizing (8.3in x 11.7in). Keeping it clean and sophisticated, the single “A” from Alitalia is used as the identity as well as the Italian flag acting as an accent at the bottom of the page.



Envelope

The envelope is an alternative to standard envelopes. This style can make the paper fold strictly in half and provide a larger format to stand out to customers and employees. Again, the envelope displays strictly the “A” from Alitalia and the Italian flag as an accent on the flap.



Mille Miglia Card

The Mille Miglia card is the new frequent flyer card from Alitalia. The new card features a more classic and wealthy aesthetic to the Alitalia branding. This card is used to track the passenger’s travels and award points to further flights. Also, the card can be used to have express check in, express baggage check and be able to enter any Alitala First Class Lounge worldwide.



Aircraft

The new decal on the aircraft is quite a change from the previous designs on the Alitalia planes. The new aircrafts provides more dominant Italian colors in the green, white and red. As well, a gradient is provided from the nose of the plane to the back creating the effect that the plane is going at speeds so fast, the paint begins to disappear. These new decals can now make Alitalia stand out amongst a fleet of its competition.



Advertising

The advertising for Alitalia was inspired by the true glamour of the 1960s and 1970s when La Dolce Vita was the expression on the town. Taking from the colors of Italy and classic black and white photography, the advertising captures the audience by not only the solid color, but also the settle image of the customer imagining it is they in the ad. With the tagline, “Be Italian” the audience understands that is the true lifestyle of Italians in these ads.




Boarding Pass

With technology and the boom of smart phones, the boarding pass in print has almost become obsolete. Alitalia has developed an App that can be downloaded for free and your boarding pass can now be digital.




The boarding pass features clear and straightforward information such as seat number, flight number, travel information and flight times.

Check in service

The new check in service at Alitalia is state of the art. At major airports internationally, the Alitalia check in service can be found with express baggage check and a staff member also on hand to assist you with any problems.  




First Class Handout

These little booklet is given out to our first class passengers on board. The booklet consists of a menu, entertainment options, a drink menu and a comment card. The cards can be changed monthly and comes in a green folder.




First Class Lounge Booklet

This First Class Lounge booklet is given to our first class passengers, as well as passengers thinking of joining out first class customer service program. The booklet has information on check in service options, first class amenities, lounge features and benefits of joining the Mille Miglia program.




Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Phase 3

Although it has been a little since my last post, this is the latest process of my work and still in the stages of editing, but these are most likely the directions I am headed with.

My first iteration of a new boarding pass in print version. After discussion that these boarding passes may be discontinued, I decided to do a digital version.


This is the digital version with a very simple and straight forward layout of a boarding pass


These are the decisions between 2 possible final logo choices. The one of top has the original strong red accent in the A, while the bottom has a gradient red accent in the A to help signify that is a little more updates than the previous. This is still in the process of being decided, but does not affect further deliverables.





These are a series of potential ads I created for Alitalia that just simply suggest, "Be Italian". The classic imagery and photography can capture an audience and possible lure them into visiting Italy and live like how the italians live.


Two versions of stationary. The top had a green element to break up the simple white paper while the bottom pack showed an off white stock with the touch of the italian flag to add as an element.


Possible updates uniforms. These have since been left out, due to being to provocative.




The check in service counters have the new identity affiliated with them and now are more visible and distinctive to Alitalia in major airports.

The Mille  for frequent flyers of Alitalia. The new card shows the new identity, as well as a cleaner and more up to date approach on the card.




First class booklet. This booklet is for current first class members to see what we offer, as well as a book given to future customers to see what Alitalia offers.

The Alitalia aircraft. These are the final 7 decided aircrafts to go with. Out of these 7, one will be chosen to work further with and develop. Currently, I am leaning towards the first 2 on the left and the second down on the right.

Saturday, February 5, 2011

3 Directions

Here are the 3 possible directions I may take the new identity of Alitalia. These are what the logos would be. After chosen which direction is best, I will begin to create the identity fully with the chosen mark.

The first direction is based on the traditional approach to italian design. This has an appeal of nostalgia as well as a romantic approach.

This direction is based on the current identity. With keeping the same appeal of the iconic "A", I have updated the text and capitalized it. The new approach is current, shows class and is more vibrant than the previous. This can work because not only does it look similar to the old, but is provided with a fresh face and can still appeal to old and new customers.

This is considered the strong direction, personally. In this approach, we take a strong typeface and display it how it is. Alitalia, nothing else. This identity has the thought of having a word-mark as the strong enough voice for the airline. As well, adding the accents either beside or on top of the identity to show the strength and grace of the airline, in italian colors. Italy has been known for its extreme flying actions and these accents are usually shown when speaking about "Italian Flying"

First Rough Sketches