Southwest Airlines is the largest American airline, founded in the spring of 1967. Its founders are Herbert Kelleher and Rollin King. The firm was originally named Air Southwest Co. It received its current name only in 1971, when it acquired the status of a national aviation company and began operating flights in Texas. Now it has 103 regular destinations and about 4 thousand daily flights. The organization’s headquarters are in Dallas (USA).
Meaning and history
Immediately after the opening, rival airlines attempted to block the launch of Southwest Airlines and filed a lawsuit. But after the litigation ended, the firm established itself in the market and is now the largest low-cost carrier with 737 airlines. In 1971, after claims settlement, it began operating flights to just two cities.
Beginning in 1975, the company expanded the list of points available in the state of Texas and in 1979 began flying across the country. Since the 1990s, it has completely covered the southeast direction of the international level. Southwest Airlines got its visual identity mark as soon as it was announced. In total, there are four logos in its history.
1967 – 1971
The opening emblem consists of three broad lines that are diagonal and slanted to the left. The stripes are painted in different colors (yellow, red, orange) and have a horizontal black inscription in the middle – “Southwest”. The letters are smooth, cut, wide and in capital letters.
1971 – 1998
In 1971, a radically different logo, in the shape of a winged heart, was approved. The fine feathers to the right and left of the centerpiece are taken from the so-called aviator insignia, which always features winged elements. They denote affiliation to aviation. Between eight feathers (four on each side) in the middle is a heart with a wide red border. In the background is a blue ring with a gold outline with the words “Southwest Airlines” on top and bottom.
1998 – 2014
Company management switched to more specific aviation symbols and opted for an airplane emblem. It is realistically depicted and located slightly from the side. The first years it was Desert Gold, and then Canyon Blue appeared. The plane taking off into the sky has a red bottom and a blue top, separated by a thin yellow stripe. The second half of the logo is the name. It’s black, grotesque, with medium-thick lettering.
2014 – Present
In early fall 2014, the management made changes to the brand name, revising it. The designers recovered the heart and made it striped, consisting of three yellow-red-blue lines of different lengths. On the left side, they put the name of the airline by writing the phrase “Southwest Airlines” in large blue. That is, the emphasis has now shifted from graphics to text.
Symbol font and color
From the beginning, it is dominated by the theme of aviation: runways, wings, planes. The title is also required (short or full). Depending on the tasks to be performed, it was written in small or large print. The heart appeared as a sign that the airline puts the person first with its sincere affections and feelings. But the background has always been the same: absolutely blank space.
The Southwest Airlines logos use a font developed by the company in collaboration with Lippincott and Monotype. It’s called Southwest Sans and it was proposed by designers Dan Rhatigan and Jim Ford. The color palette is also designed by these studios and consists of a combination of sky blue, yellow and red. Previously, orange was also included in the palette.