AIRASIA

TitleAIRASIA
BrandAIRASIA BERHAD
Product / ServiceAIRASIA
CategoryA01. Corporate Identity Schemes
EntrantTHE PARTNERS Singapore, SINGAPORE
Entrant Company THE PARTNERS Singapore, SINGAPORE
Advertising Agency THE PARTNERS Singapore, SINGAPORE

Credits

Name Company Position
Su Lee Lim The Partners (Singapore) Project Manager
Anant Deboor The Partners (Singapore) Managing Director
Neville Hew The Partners (Singapore) Designer
Kevin Lan The Partners (London) Design Director
Tim Brown The Partners (Singapore) Creative Lead

Brief Explanation

There were multiple challenges. From controlling an inconsistent logo and an overwhelming sea of red and multiple typestyles to clicheed images, noisy copy and a lack of any coherent and appealing personality across the huge number of touchpoints. Our key objectives were: - Bring out a bold, cool and fun personality - Create a basic toolkit that could be applied across different touchpoints and by the different AA teams across different markets - flexibly, yet consistently

The Brief

AirAsia had grown at an incredible pace, keeping costs down and create experiential value through smart brand marketing. Since the relaunch in 2002, AirAsia grew from 2 old planes and a US$11mn debt into a 100-plane, highly profitable, well-recognised airline - pioneering several initiatives along the way. As coverage grew across Asia and beyond, there was a clear need to dramatically refresh the brand’s identity in line with its ambitions. To transform what was a rather ‘budget’ look into something cool, bold and pan-Asian. After all, the brand name was AirAsia!

How the final design was conceived

The first challenge was to simplify and get rid of various bad habits. Then re-design with the principle of ‘less is more’. A simple palette of colours - red, black and white - and a contemporary set of patterns inspired by the rich tapestry of visual graphics of different Asian cultures. Bold, simple typography. The AirAsia logo now had one iconic look - within a bold red circle. The red colour now became more emphatic by reducing it and contrasting with black and white. A simple graphic system of circles and arcs to unify and hold the different elements together.

Indication of how successful the outcome was in the market

AirAsia is a social media star - with over 3.6mn fans on Facebook and 1.1mn followers on Twitter. The AA Booking App has about 1.8mn downloads across platforms and the redesigned website attracts 11mn unique visitors monthly. In the physical world, 85 airport check-in facilities and terminals have been refurbished/newly installed with the new identity. And according to Campaign Asia-Pacific’s Top 1000 brand in Asia, AirAsia is by far Asia’s top-ranked airline brand. And what’s more, AirAsia has just been awarded the World’s Best Budget Airline for the fifth year in a row.