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Swiss Airlines has a rich history that has been hidden in the archives for quite some time. On March 26th, 1931 when Swissair formed, I doubt anyone at the time really considered the history that they were going to be making with the company’s design. Balair and Ad Astra were the two companies that merged to form Swissair. Throughout the years they’ve changed logos many times but there was one that was most memorable (above). Quite possibly it was the best logo that the company has ever used.
Thanks to SR692 we’re able to chronologically walk through past logos used by Swissair. Some great, some not so great and a few that were very, very experimental. I’d love to hear what you think about some of these logos so hit the jump to continue reading and see more images.
Check out Part Two of this post » Swiss Airlines Posters.
1931: Early Logo Development
The first couple of years were experimental for the company. They didn’t have a standardized logo and in fact they weren’t always called Swissair in print; sometimes they were Swiss Airlines, Switzerland Air.
1940s: Classic logo
The 1940s would be the start of the company having a standard logo on the livery of their airplanes. It could be just me but it seems that this logo has the “war” vibe attached with it—from the color to the typeface.
1950s: Swissair Signet and Dynamic Typeface
This mark was created by Reudi Bircher for the purpose of providing a literal representation of the line of business that the company was. You can read more about the signet in this article written by Bircher.
Along with the arrow comes this beautiful typefaces that signifies motion in the same efforts that the signet does. You can see many different versions of each being used. Some the combination of the two and some separated. All around I would have to say this was their strongest rebrand the company has ever seen. Wouldn’t you agree?
1960s-70s: Swissair Signet
The company seemingly started removing “Swissair” from the inner of the arrow and only used it externally. You can see in the images below where the signet started to live in the wild as a mark by itself. Still the company would retain the great design that I truly still wish were around today.
1980-2000: Last Swissair logo
Starting in 1981, Swissair had its 50th anniversary and “modernized” its logo and aircraft livery. Initially they weren’t strict about the logo and there were quite a few versions, leaving the brand somewhat patchy.
Experimental Logos
It’s always interesting to see logos that weren’t used because they’re often really interesting. Some of the marks here were extremely abstract and you probably couldn’t see this ever being used. The logos I’m guessing were shot down because of how radical they were to airlines or Swissair’s competitor logos.
All images complimentary of the SR692 Archive.
SO NICE! Thanks for sharing.
great insight!
Pure gold.
1950s is nice, but I have to say I enjoy the 1980-2000 logo more – despite the generic typeface. I think it’s a matter of taste though, both logos are great. Designers in Switzerland have such a strong symbol to work with (+).
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Great post! Didn’t know the older ones – and this post makes me think of the times late 50, early 60 as the period of design I like most – especially when I think of airlines (Lufthansa’s airline design with the nice blue, the chrome… harrrrr)
The experimental ones are also quite interesting – some look like a bomb to me (and one like the Hakenkreuz?)
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Anything, everything Swiss is too gorgeous not to stare at.
This is a great study – thank you so much for sharing.
Great write up. Thanks!
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One of those versions was created by Karl Gerstner. You can find it in his book “Review of 5 x 10 Years of Graphic Design etc.”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hectic_8/3726340600/sizes/z/in/photostream/
this is brilliant ! what a fascinating and aesthetic post, really love it. so glad swissmiss shared it on her site. i am now totally obsessed with the swissair fan site too. ;) i live in zürich and love swiss vintage posters and design. i was actually at an exhibit not too long ago on just that theme, and there were a bunch of swissair posters too. very cool. thanks for putting this together !
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Awesome to see! Thanks for sharing :)
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Note that the 1950s lettering is very close to what the Swiss Railways (SBB CFF FFS) used from the 1950s to the 1980s (a more elongated version of the letters can still be found on many locomotives today). So there was a visual consistency even across different modes of transport: Swissair, like Swiss rail, is practical, punctual, reliable transportation.
I’ve been trying to figure out the typeface introduced in the 50’s for quite some time. Is it an actual typeface? Or was it created just for the logotype?
I had a brief discussion about the typeface used (if it was one ) and I came to this conclusion…
Handel Gothic does look similar, but based on the year that Linotype claims it was designed, I don’t think the Swissair logo used it.
I believe that it was created specifically as a logotype and then eventually transformed into a typeface later on.
Karl Gerstner designed this version.
Wink Media designed the most current version.
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Dam I like swiss design, thats a great run down of its history, thanks for the post.
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Its interesting how the logo from the 50s (which you like) looks alot more modern and futuristic than the one from the 80s. If anything the 80s one feels more dated to me than the 50s. Nice post.
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@David,
Good point. A lot of the mid-century design that I’ve ever come across has had that “uber-futuristic” feel to it. It’s something that we really don’t see nowadays, or haven’t seen since.
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great compilation, thanks
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Experimental logos, top row, middle….call me crazy but it looks like an abstract swastika. I can see why that one didn’t make it.
cool stuff
@Krause, you’re entirely right. That is what I saw when first looking at it. The time period these were created explains somewhat of why we’re seeing that similarity.
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You can see why they dropped the signet, it really began to feel more like a cruise missile than an aircraft. It could have been reworked i’m sure, but I actually prefer the final logo evolution. Perhaps they could’ve met half way. (via AisleOne)
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My own feelings did not respond quite so favourably to the 1950s redesign. I found myself immediately reminded of the V-1 flying bomb, first of cruise missiles, and the war graffiti drawn on bombs and shells. (SWISSAIR replacing “Up Yours, Adolf” ;) Just look at the top-right poster and tell me that doesn’t look like a payload delivery or a murder of doodlebug-like devices aimed for London. These works – and some of the experimental ones – feel surprisingly militaristic to me for a country supposedly neutral.
Of course, these are just my feelings looking back from the 22nd century – it may well have been intended and perceived as bold & futuristic at the time.
I think my vote must go to the final period in Swissair history. Although I can see the appeal in (the use of) the old logotype (60–70s), I feel the new logo, being friendlier & more inviting, says “people” more than the old type, which would suit cargo better. And is there anything that says Swiss more clearly than a white Greek cross on red background?
Great post. Cheers!
>>FYI: While Swissair may have ceased operations in 2002, I understand it was reborn as SWISS (International Air Lines). Re-branding was inevitable and looks a bit more serious again. Perhaps an idea for a follow-up article?
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Love it! Need to do a post on these unbelievable logos
Thank you for that
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