Air France (French pronunciation: [ɛːʁ fʁɑ̃s]; formally Société Air France, S.A.), stylized as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France.
Meaning and history
The company’s logo uses the image of the Hippocampus, a mythological creature in the form of a winged horse with a fish tail. Legend has it that it is the fastest animal that the ancient gods put on chariots. It was also ridden by the Nereids. It was he, as the embodiment of extreme speed, who was chosen for their logo by Air France airline.
1933 – 1976
The first corporate logo of the French airline looked like a heraldic symbol with the image of Hippocampe Aline. A winged horse with a fish tail was drawn in the center of a white circle. Broad lines emerge from its wings. These lines created the feeling of flapping these wings. They fill the emblem with dynamics and a sense of movement. The color of all elements is dark blue, including the border.
1976 – 1990
In 1976, the era of new brand symbols began without a mythical creature. The designers changed it to a slightly sloping and elongated rectangle with various stripes like in a barcode. Below is the inscription «Air France» in bold. The color scheme is white, red and blue, as in the national flag.
1990 – 1998
In 1990, the developers introduced an updated display of the logo. All the elements in it remained the same, but their proportions and location have been changed. The name of the company is now represented on a graphic sign, between which there is a thin black stripe. The strip separates the inscription from the rectangle at the bottom right.
1998 – 2009
During this period, the designers made another version of the logo. They removed the black line and moved the bottom element, stretching it to a width. This made the strokes short, reminiscent of parallelograms. The group of geometric figures is under the inscription “Air France”, which is written in large letters.
2009 – 2016
In this version, the typeface has become much clearer: the letters appear finer and more elegant. The rectangle is replaced by a miniature red ribbon in the shape of a flat parallelepiped. Also, two words are combined into one. The main colors are dark blue and red.
2016 – Present
In 2016 the palette of the logo was softened slightly: the word combination “Air France” took on a softer blue hue.
