Kinda Funky Chicken

Here is United's new livery in action. I would assume it's a Pentagram job. They've been working with United for several years. It looks much more like a "people's" airline than the previous grey/blue livery. I like the abstracted symbol on the tail. Nicely done, considering some of the more recent abominations.

Incidentally, airliners.net is a great resource for plane fans.

The GDC just relaunched their site as well. I'm going to very tactfully abstain from commenting on it (except to say, you shoulda seen it before -- whoa).

Interestingly, they're using a similar colour palette. I can't say I care for those chunks of 70s kitchen appliances colour.

JonSel, I don't agree with you re the nwa -- I like it. I like the way the plane looks like a bomber. I'm not so keen on the United livery, though I do like the logo -- even though I suspect that in some previous post I may have said I didn't like the logo.

marian, the NorthWest logo will forever be underscored by the bad appropriation of, well, the original NWA acronym.

i hate KFC. i can't believe the shit they say in their ads. trying to push fried chicken as a healthy low-carb alternative to the burger joints? that's almost as ridiculous as saying that big ass 1/3 pounder at burger king is suddenly healthy when you remove the bun. i just saw a bacardi ad on a bustop...

"Bacardi and Diet Cola. Zero Carbs. Who knew?" it then said there were still 60 calories. which makes me very curious...if there are no carbs, that means there are 15g of either protein or fat. that just seems really weird.

Kurt Koepfle from Pentagram just sent me a nice image of a plane in action. This one has mountains.

as an aside, the January/Febuary 2004 issue of Print has an article about branding of so-called 'budget' airlines such as song, Ted, and easyJet.

i'll preface my comment with, "i live in nyc and am leery of all things aeronautic," but with the fade at the top doesn't the new United tail look like it's on fire?

I like the way the plane looks like a bomber.

Marian, are you sure you're a canuk?

Nikon: I don't want to like it. But I kind of do. Actually, it reminded me a lot of that link from Veer: J-cards.

AIGA's site: Okay. I'm a little suprised at the amount of clutter, but I guess that's the way things look right now. And it's way better than the old one.

Killed For Consumption. Gross.

-R

United is by Pgram. Some team called "Beirut" something. Does that sound right?

(Hi Melissa)

There isn't a single 'alt' tag on the AIGA home page. Pathetic. Just goes to show (once again) the AIGA doesn't 'get' the web. Oh well...at least there's content on there.

Bwahahahaha! From the KFC site:

...and our suppliers tell us that they are complying with this policy...

And

...Our suppliers also tell us that to promote the health and well being of the chickens in their care, some chickens may, from time to time, be given medications (including antibiotics)

...

Oh...well as long as they TOLD you that, sure...I'll trust you.

not digging those GDC colors either. Nor am i digging the blurry stained glass looking headers when you click through.

meh. i guess one of these days i should become a member.

I really like the new United stuff.

And the new nikon Rick, I agree, I kind of dont want to like it but I do - something about it is really welcoming - it feels like they have gone back to their roots a little bit. Something about it makes me think a little bit modern and a little bit old school...

More on the AIGA redesign (specifically the forums) here.

Rick took my KFC idea...

On a positive note for KFC, the new ending animations on their TV ads are pretty swift and well executed. They almost, almost make me want to eat their chicken.

Oh, and Kinetic Featherless Chicken.

Yes, the new United livery is by Pentagram. As one of the designers involved, I have to tell you how amazing it was to go onto a site like www.airliners.net (one of several blogs devoted exclusively to people who, um, like airplanes with a passion. Within four hours of the posting of the first (unofficial) photograph of the new paint job, there were more than 100 comments, pro and con. Wild.

Miss Amanda-

I really thought the "blurry stained glass" things as headers were kind of nice. They appeal to my obsessive need for orderliness.

Overall, it looks a lot like Digital Thread.

Of note: If you view the source of http://www.gdc.net/index.php, you find an interesting little (dirty?) secret.

I've been trying to come up with an excuse to say "The Maple Leaf state" while writing this post, and I haven't found one yet.

-R

eric, i don't understand your nwa comment. but oh well. and no, the united tail does not look like it's on fire. fire is yellow. and yes i'm sure i'm a canuck. and i was going to say something really mean about KFC, but brook said it for me -- or part of it anyway. and does everyone feel as lethargic as i do today?

Personally I like to fly Skyhigh whenever possible.

eric, i don't understand your nwa comment

Marian, there was an 80s hardcore rap group called NWA. The letters stood for "N___'s With Attitude". It was my first thought when seeing the new ID and planes for Northwest.

and Marian, dear girl, the warmest part of the flame is blue. the fade on the solids and the abstraction of the logo looks a bit like, "the plane's on fire" to me.

Jon... thanks for 'keepin it real', g.

I'm with Marian. The new planes look frosty to me. And yes, those NWA planes are mean-looking.

Thanks JonSel (and eric), I have ... once again ... learned something today.

Except about the fire. True, the heart of a flame may be blue at its hottest point, but even in the lovely blue flame of an oxy-aceteline torch, the tip where it fades out is still yellow.

Frosty!

Did anyone notice the AIGA Design forum?

It was designed by Behaviour with the help of Naz from Absenter.org

It seems as if the AIGA took a close look at the success of Speak Up to consider in it's design and development of its forum. Which you can read a little about here.

Did someone say 'blue flame?'...

Anyway, Michael’s right. the folks on a.net take this stuff pretty seriously. There’s currently a poll on the homepage to rate the new United livery. Go vote. Afterwards, feel free to jump into a lively conversation about codesharing alliances and irregular operations.

> It seems as if the AIGA took a close look at the success of Speak Up to consider in it's design and development of its forum.

Ah, the secret though is that the success is neither in the design nor in the development of Speak Up…

Ah, the secret though is that the success is neither in the design nor in the development of Speak Up…

Very important point. ;o)

Anybody catch the new United TV ads? Good stuff. Very different. Courtesy of Fallon in Minneapolis.

> Along with the redesign comes improved usability in their forum section as well as the return of the AIGA Journal of Design.

OK, before you get out your gloves and accuse me of senseless self promotion and own-horn-tootin', I want to say that I'm only mentioning this because I want to share.

Born in Mexico but made in America — an article I wrote for the new AIGA Journal.

Quick note: Nikon's identity was done by Interbrand.