“We love the whole world,” the elements of the emblem read. “All countries are beautiful, and our airplanes will take you to any of them.” The Southwest Airlines logo is the vast expanse of the sky, which the carrier has conquered and feels very confident there.
Southwest Airlines: Brand overview
Meaning and History
Immediately after opening, competing carriers tried to block the launch of Southwest Airlines and sued it. But after the litigation ended, the company established itself in the market and is now the largest low-cost airline with 737 airliners. In 1971, after settling the claims, it started operating flights to only two cities.
Beginning in 1975, the company expanded its list of available locations in Texas, and in 1979 it began flying nationwide. Since the 1990s, it has fully covered the Southeast internationally. Southwest Airlines received its trademark as soon as it announced itself. There are a total of four logos in its history.
What is Southwest Airlines?
It is a low-cost airline from the United States. According to world statistics, it ranks second among all airlines and first among low-cost airlines in terms of the number of passengers carried.
1967 – 1971
The opening emblem consists of three wide lines arranged diagonally and sloping to the left. The stripes are painted in different colors (yellow, red, orange) and have a horizontal black inscription in the middle – “South-West.” The letters are smooth, chopped, and wide, in upper case.
1971 – 1998
In 1971, a fundamentally different logo was approved – in the form of a winged heart. The thin feathers to the right and left of the central element are borrowed from the so-called aviator badge, which always has winged elements. They denote an affiliation with aviation. Between the eight feathers (four on each side) in the center is a heart with a wide red border. The background is a blue ring with a gold outline with the words “Southwest Airlines” at the top and bottom.
1998 – 2014
The management of the company switched to more specific aviation symbols and opted for an airplane emblem. It is depicted realistically and is located slightly to the side. In the first years, it was Desert Gold, and then Canyon Blue appeared. The airplane taking to the sky has a red bottom and a blue top, separated by a thin yellow stripe. The other half of the logo is the name. It is black, grotesque, with medium-thick letters.
2014 – today
In the early fall of 2014, the company’s management made changes to the brand name, redesigning it. The designers returned the heart and made it striped – consisting of three yellow-red-blue lines of different lengths. On the left side, they placed the name of the carrier, writing the phrase “Southwest Airlines” in a large blue font. So now the emphasis has shifted from graphics to text.
Font and Colors
From the very beginning, the emblem is dominated by aviation themes: runways, wings, and airplanes. The name (short or full) is also obligatory. Depending on the tasks to be solved, it was written in small or large letters. A heart appeared as a sign that the air carrier puts its heartfelt affection and feelings into a person. The background, on the other hand, has always remained the same – a completely white space.
Southwest Airlines logos use a font that the company developed with Lippincott and Monotype. It’s called Southwest Sans and was proposed by designers Dan Ratigan and Jim Ford. The color palette was also thought up by these studios and consisted of sky blue, yellow, and red. Previously, the palette also included orange.
Southwest Airlines color codes
Violet Blue | Hex color: | #2e4bb1 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 46 75 177 | |
CMYK: | 74 58 0 31 | |
Pantone: | PMS 2728 C |
Cerulean Blue | Hex color: | #3453c4 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 52 83 196 | |
CMYK: | 73 58 0 23 | |
Pantone: | PMS 2728 C |
Neon Silver | Hex color: | #cccccc |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 204 204 204 | |
CMYK: | 0 0 0 20 | |
Pantone: | PMS 420 C |
Lust | Hex color: | #e51d23 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 229 29 35 | |
CMYK: | 0 87 85 10 | |
Pantone: | PMS Bright Red C |
Selective Yellow | Hex color: | #f9b612 |
---|---|---|
RGB: | 249 182 18 | |
CMYK: | 0 27 93 2 | |
Pantone: | PMS 7549 C |
FAQ
What does the Southwest Airlines logo mean?
The heart emblem represents hospitality, warmth, love, care, and adherence to Southwest Airlines’ core values. It is a marker for the airline’s high-quality service.
What is the motto of Southwest Airlines?
The airline’s current slogan is: ‘Low fares. Nothing to hide. That’s TransFarency!’ Previous advertising slogans have had their share of humor, too. For example, ‘The Somebody Else Up There Who Loves You,’ ‘Just Plane Smart,’ and ‘Love Is Still Our Field.
Why is Southwest’s logo a heart?
According to marketing manager Kevin Krone, the heart of the company’s logo symbolizes care about customers. It is a composite image of all the hearts that Southwest Airlines employees put into the business they love.
When did Southwest Airlines start?
The story of American Airlines started in 1971 when a local airline appeared in the three biggest cities in Texas.