Cathay Pacific have been working on a new brand image for the past few months, and whilst you may be forgiven for going ‘Really?’ we here at thedesignair.net think the subtle difference in the new brand positioning is both striking, powerful and evocative. We have been huge fans of the interior and ground products of the airline for many years, but the livery and graphic proposition, whilst iconic hasn’t been the most aesthetically pleasing. This new design philosophy “Softly spoken, strongly felt” paves the way (although hasn’t been confirmed) for a new livery concept, to sit along the new brand image of the airline.
“The key driver behind this commitment to and investment in this brand refresh work has been to refocus on our customers and define how we can elevate their travel experience with us. Cathay Pacific will continue to put our passengers at the heart of everything we do as we move forward into this next exciting stage in our journey,” states Cathay Pacific.
The iconic ‘Brushwing’ stays, a combination of both a birds wing, and the Chinese calligraphy, visually representing the roots of the carrier. However the icon is decluttered, the line of red being removed, along with the background box. The wing is also simplified, an easier to utilise design means less feathering and a higher rise in the tail of the logo.
The logotype has also been simplified, removing the now somewhat dated ‘Small-Caps’ treatment, instead offering for a more powerful and aesthetically pleasing ‘All-Caps’ style – it’s a simple yet effective way of refreshing the brand.
But the images released today by the carrier also evoke a sense of contemporary traditionalism, a strong connection to the earthy roots, natural materials, and the photography style symbolises warmth, familiarity and luxury. New imagery of lounges has appeared (most likely concepts of the Haneda lounge, timed to open in December this year), whereby there is still a large emphasis on understated design, ease of use and texture.
There are numerous incarnations of the logo throughout the experience, from luggage and frequent flier tags through to uniform pins, and each work now harmoniously to create a simpler, easily identifiable image of Cathay Pacific. “More immediately, you’ll also notice changes to the website which are designed to make it more intuitive and user-friendly. The new website will continue to be enhanced with added functionality throughout 2015.” says Ivan Chu, Chief Executive of Cathay Pacific.
We will have more on the new image of Cathay Pacific in the coming days, on the design ethos of our of our favourite brands and we will take a deeper look into this brand refresh.
The Big Picture
TheDesignAir 
It all seems pretty stupid to me. Doesn’t Cathay management have anything better to do wi their time and shareholders’ money?
Just put short skirts and tight blouses on the waitresses and be done with it!
One of the FA’s is wearing the pin backwards.
what? no they aren’t.
Although I do like the brand refresh, I am a little worried that this means another logosplash livery, similar to that of China Eastern, JAL, Finnair etc. The logo looks great, despite being simplistic but it looks like an excuse just to have a plain white livery with the logo on the tail. I really hope not.
really … which one? all look alright to me (from these pictures at least).
This simplification of the brand image IS an improvement, though nothing about Cathay’s current look is as attractive as the former bright green livery, with the two white stripes on the tail. That handsome paint job, from the Swire Group days, was similar to BOAC’s equally simple – and stunning – 1960’s livery (think Super VC-10).
I do wonder about the photo of the Cathay Pacific flight attendants, wearing what appear to be very poorly fitted uniforms. What, they couldn’t get a good tailor – in Hong Kong?!?!?
Is there a picture for a plane painted in this new livery? Cathy Pacific is kinda follow China Eastern’s suit by using only the core part of the old logo.