Originally Posted by
BearX220
I don't know if it's still the case, but until a year or two ago at least, you could walk through SFO and pick out bits and pieces of United signage / branding from the Saul Bass era -- a visual identity theoretically retired when Stephen Wolf's Death Star look came in in the early 1990s. United never made crisp, uniform branding any kind of priority.
They did change the master brand compulsively though -- six distinct looks 1970-2019 (Friend Ships, Bass / tulip, Death Star, overscanned tulip post-BK, hybrid meatball, evolved / recolored meatball II) -- a period when American deemed the number of necessary livery changes to be one.
Pentagram was brought on board in 1997 to overhaul the brand out of battleship.
Well, the dot com, followed by 9/11, and then Ch 11. made this all a very long process. First, the type face (1998) changed, then the rising blue livery (2005). This was purely because United was not a rich airline after prolonger crisis, so I don't hold this against them - these were prudent measures to take, while still remaining committed to the top to bottom overhaul Pentagram did in every facet of the United business.
Smisek said after the merger:
"The United name is very well recognized internationally, Continental’s logo is symbolic of great culture and service.”, and later went on to tell the NYT that the Continental name was more synonymous with a tire brand outside of the US (can't find that quote at the moment).
I personally think the Pentagram-designed United showcased a regal, proud, and ultimately sophisticated look to the rest of the world for the airline that has arguably always been the US's premier international flag carrier, picking up the torch from Pan Am. To go from something specifically created for 15 years from the countries best designers, to well, "meat and potatoes", everyday Joe type stuff - well, to say I felt sucker punched still hasn't gone away. I will always cherish the work Pentagram did - I think the work for United (and Fallon Worldwide's post Ch. 11 "It's Time to Fly" campaign), being a United fan non-withstanding, was some of the best in global aviation, ever.
Pentagram still has their United work on their website:
https://www.pentagram.com/work/united-airlines/story
- That Star Alliance logo we all see today was also designed by, well, you guessed it!