The British company Vertical Aerospace, a pioneer in electric aviation, has decided to rethink its visual identity ahead of the launch of its new aircraft, Valo. The work was entrusted to the London studio Pentagram, tasked with emphasizing the brand’s technological focus and bridging the gap between complex engineering topics and a broad audience.
The updated identity retained the brand’s key foundations. The name Vertical and the hummingbird symbol remain at the core of the visual style. In the previous version, the logo looked neat and restrained. The sans serif typeface and the bird mark coexisted harmoniously, yet the hummingbird itself felt lost. The head’s outline appeared heavy, and the proportions seemed imprecise. The new symbol features smoother lines and refined forms, reads clearly as a hummingbird, and more accurately conveys the image of a light, fast bird.
The wordmark now uses the variable typeface Universal Sans. Hints of aviation luxury or decorative flair have disappeared. Pragmatism and reliability move to the foreground, softened by a careful ligature of the letters r and t. The typeface conveys a sense of a well-organized, technological company while avoiding dryness.
The color system remains largely monochrome. The black-and-white base emphasizes the brand’s engineering focus. Photographs of the aircraft, developed by the OMI studio, look striking. Universal Sans is available in a wide range of variations, enabling concise, rich text blocks in the spirit of the Swiss school.
The new style is accompanied by the slogan “To the sky.” The wording conveys the company’s drive to advance air transportation. At the same time, the mass-service model of companies like Uber is difficult to apply to Vertical Aerospace, given the aircraft’s status, cost, and limited availability.
The updated look of Vertical Aerospace maintains a balance between engineering rigor and visual appeal. The logo and identity appear solid and feel well-suited to a company working with a product as complex and high-tech as the Valo electric aircraft.
