I had heard about the United Airlines merger with Continental, but hadn’t paid much attention to it given all the mergers that have been going down as of late. However as I was scanning various sites relative to corporate identity and branding I noticed that it became official this week that the two airlines merged. Along with that announcement and formal handshakes was the unveiling of their merged brands logo. Upon first glance it appeared that there was a mistake–somehow the words ‘United Airlines’ were with the Continental Airlines globe. But as I learned this arrangement was actually done on purpose. The distinctive United U was gone.

This hits closer to home for me due to the fact that since a very early stage in my career dating back to the early ‘80′s I have always admired Saul Bass who designed the distinctive U in 1973, and who also coincidentally had a hand in Continental’s early identity back in 1968. Saul Bass’ career spans over 50 years and across many different disciplines of design including films. So it is with some great sadness to see the iconic United Airlines identity brushed aside. It survived over 30 years of ups and downs in the airline industry with several updates to the type, but the U always remained.

The new arrangement seems to be a ‘what’s wrong with this picture’ puzzle more so than a real solution to the merger of two great airlines. From a visual branding perspective this presents some real problems because of the prior associations we have with these two airlines. Now where do we go? I’m confused. My only hope is that within time there will be a new identity created that will pick up where the U left off.

Tags: Branding, Corporate Identity, Kurt Palmquist, Logos

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