If you’re looking to feel safe in the air, you might want to fly El Al. Long considered to be one of the world’s safest airlines, this Israeli airline flies to five continents. It’s a well-known fixture on international airports, with a unique logo that certainly stands out on the tarmac. Taking a look at the rarely-changing El Al logo can tell you quite a bit about how the company has changed over the years, as well as how the company’s identity has become ever more tied into the identity of its company of origin.
El Al Logo Design Elements
The current El Al logo is fairly straightforward, but still unique. The design mixes the name of the company in both English and Hebrew, helping to highlight the company’s home country while still making a fairly unique statement in terms of looks. The logo also features as an element the flag of Israel, which further cements the status of the airline as the national airline of the country. It’s similar, in many ways, to the use of the American flag in several different American companies.
The color scheme is likewise very Israeli. The blue and white are easy identifiers, even if one didn’t already know the country of origin for the company. The letters are forward-facing and bold, showing that the company looks towards the future. The entire look is quite inviting, helping to ensure that passengers will be drawn to the company.
Changes and Evolution
1. Shape
The original logo of El Al was very different than what you see today. The big difference, of course, is the lack of the Israeli flag. Instead, you simply have the words ‘El Al’ stacked together in a box. It’s a very spartan logo, but it worked in the 1940s and 1950s. It’s the kind of logo that spoke to simplicity, but it’s also the kind of logo that puts a company’s name in the forefront. The switch to the new logo was done in order to bring the design to the present, both by embracing the company’s identity and by providing a design that was more or less future-proof.
2. Color
Even the earlier versions of the El Al logo seem to have used a very similar color scheme to what’s in place today. The colors weren’t quite as blatantly taken from the flag, but they were still friendly and welcoming. They were the colors of an airline in ascendance, one that was reassuring passengers of the safety and luxury of air travel. Taken as a whole, the color scheme is simply one that works – perhaps the reason why it is in use today.
3. Font
The most interesting part of the El Al logo is the font. The old font, however, was as basic as it gets. The simple block letters didn’t give the company much of an identity, though they did tend to stack together quite well. The switch over to a mix between English and Hebrew characters is much more unique, helping the company to stand out in a field that is much more crowded than it was when the company was founded in the 1940s. The new font combines the necessity of branding with a firm eye towards the airline’s identity.
Influences/ Inspiration
El Al’s early influences were, as one might imagine, the other airlines in operation at the same time. Simplicity and ease of identification were the watchwords of the day, so the logo followed suit. When the logo was redesigned, though, branding had become much more important. It not only took pages from other modern airlines but largely took its image from the flag of Israel. It’s a common enough tactic to take for a national airline, though, so it’s hard to claim that is was inspired by any one company.
Likewise, the El Al logo is part of a general movement and not necessarily an influencer on its own. The mix of languages and fonts s prevalent in other Middle Eastern countries, but again largely as part of an overall trend. El Al’s logo is, for the most part, a unique piece of work.
Trivia
- All El Al planes are equipped with anti-missle defense systems.
- All the meals on El Al flights were designed by one of Israel’s top chefs.
- It’s now possible to buy a direct flight from Tel Aviv to San Francisco.
- El Al set the world record for most passengers on a commercial flight.
Conclusion
The El Al logo is a good example of a marriage between location and identity. It’s impossible to separate El Al from Israeli, and that’s one of the goals of the design. While the design might be tweaked in the future, parts of the current design scheme are sure to be kept.
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