American Airlines original designer Massimo Vignelli hates its redesign

Skift Take

Good design is good forever is his contention, and says AA's new design won't last the next 25 years.

Q&A in BusinessWeek with designer Massimo Vignelli, the creator of the American Airlines' outgoing logo.

What do you think of the redesign?
It has no sense of permanence. The American flag is great...But the American flag has 13 stripes, right? Not 11. Did American add only 11 stripes [to the flag on the tail] because they are in Chapter 11? I don’t think two more stripes would have been a disaster. And there are only two colors shown instead of all three. So is it a different flag?

What about the new logo?
Now they have something other than Helvetica that’s not as good or as powerful. Then they did a funny thing: Some may see an eagle [next to it], some may see something else. And they don’t even say it’s the eagle—they say it could be the eagle.

Rafat Ali

January 20th, 2013 at 4:04 AM EST

Tags: american airlines

Photo Credit: Massimo Vignelli in DC, talks about his DC Metro map design, which he originally did in 1976. Flickr.com / Jason

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American Airlines original designer Massimo Vignelli hates its redesign

Skift Take

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First read is on us.
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First read is on us.

American Airlines original designer Massimo Vignelli hates its redesign

Skift Take

Up Next

How Data Quality Issues Impact Global Hospitality Operations

Corporate Travel, Flying Taxis: Startups Raise $300 Million Over Three Weeks

JetBlue Targets High-Spending Flyers as Industry Competition for Premium Travelers Heats Up

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First read is on us.Subscribe to read more essential travel industry news.

First read is on us.
Subscribe to read more essential travel industry news.