3.14.2012

Hughes Airwest Identity

One of the favorite identities from my childhood memories, created by Mario Armond Zamparelli Design (L.A.) circa 1970. According to the Wikipedia entry, the airline lasted a mere decade, until it was acquired by Republic Airlines in October 1980.

To me, this logo serves as an intriguing study of the compelling power created by the push and pull between abstraction and legibility. The logotype is sufficiently bold and unique to stand on its own, without its accompanying graphic symbol which, while fitting harmoniously with the letterforms, really doesn't bring much new to the table that isn't already being brought about by the letterforms. I can't imagine a firm getting away with (or a corporate client approving) this level of abstraction in today's design world.

It's a foregone conclusion that such an abstraction of form might give rise to the casual viewer "seeing" all kinds of visual references. Escalator, printed circuit board, radio antennae, directional arrows, aircraft flight trajectory, highway, arcane long-lost tribal scrawlings, etc.; it's all there, and it's fascinating.

In addition to the extreme degree of formal abstraction, what is equally fascinating to me is the complete absence of curvilinear forms within the composition. While it would result in additional complexity in execution and draughtsmanship, it's interesting to ponder (and, possibly, visually investigate first-hand) the effect that the inclusion of curves might have on what is, in totality, such a brittle and precise formal language.

All in all, it stands as a wonderfully compelling mark crafted during the waning years of the modernist identity movement.



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