“Along with the design of our new airport, this new brand identity will help us reflect everything that is great about London, celebrate its preeminent position as a truly international city, broaden our appeal to different types of passengers and make the experience of London even better for those visiting the capital, for business or leisure.”

ROBERT SINCLAIR, CEO OF LONDON CITY AIRPORT

Internal engagement programme

Building pride and keeping staff and stakeholders involved and informed would help deliver the airports ambitious vision.

Airport wayfinding and gate branding

We designed the signage system and suite of icons. We also guided LCA on the departure gate branding which celebrated the diversity, culture and history of London.

Translation

Step straight into London’s Fashion Week. Land 40 mins before the catwalk show and you’ll be as bright as a button.

Building anticipation

Managing customers expectations during the 5 year build programme is key to its success. Here are some illustrated examples of how the brand can be used in the future to paint a bright picture of the future.

Not just a logo but a bold vision

An iconic, disruptive and integrated identity system that puts customer experiences, employee pride and making London even better at the centre of the new brand.

The challenge and solution

BACKGROUND

London City Airport is the only true London airport in terms of location and provides one of the fastest entry and exit points too, and from, one of the world’s best and most vibrant cities. And it is changing fast. Traditionally perceived as a business flyer’s choice the passenger profile of the airport is swinging towards the leisure market as people demand more convenient travel options. There is also an on-going construction project, valued at £500 million, which will result in a new Terminal building and an improved passenger experience that will be one of the best in the world for speed, comfort and welcome. Our role in this transforming environment was to help the airport define their Purpose, Vision and Values and translate these into a compelling and motivating brand proposition, identity and communications platform for internal and external stakeholders. Our clear aim was to design a brand which would signpost London City Airport’s place in our capital city, their passion for their customers and their exciting future ahead.

OUR APPROACH

Working with the leadership team at London City Airport we developed a research programme to understand the personality of the airport, its challenges and story of transformation. The conclusion of this, based on extensive 1-to-1 interviews and workshops with many of the 500 employees, was that the current image and personality of the Airport was rather cold and bland and did not reflect the pride, warmth and optimism for the future. The Airport staff, many from the local East End community, felt a genuine spirit of love for the airport and were rightly proud of the efficient and welcoming service they provided, often against a challenging backdrop of infrastructure, resource and regulatory constraints.

From this research we developed, in partnership with Storytellers, a new Vision and Purpose statement for the airport.

Vision: To be the airport everyone loves.

Purpose: To make London even better by delivering a brilliant experience with a heartfelt spirit.

These pointers, combined with the wish to convey the airport’s genuine warmth and can-do personality became the creative brief for the new brand identity and proposition.

THE SOLUTION

Working on the idea that London City Airport is ‘at the heart of London’ and is a gateway to great experiences in London and for Londoners to see the world, we developed a strong, graphic based brand identity which uses the ‘O’ in London as an interactive window to these amazing experiences. The bright, gradient colours reflect the energy and vibrancy of the airport and the warmth of its people.

Alongside the identity, The Allotment have developed extensive Brand Guidelines to help London City Airport deliver a differentiated and much loved experience. The guide including the visual and verbal tone of voice, internal and external campaigns to keep customers and staff informed of the airports transformation and progress. The Allotment also created key environmental design and wayfinding systems plus rolled out the brand across a variety of internal and external touchpoints.

Growing pride and affection for London City Airport

Brand Creation

Airports are often the gateway and first experience travellers have of a country and their culture. And yet, in the majority of cases the brands for these airports are bland, corporate and lifeless. They lack an idea of what they stand for or why they exist, and often lack an identity to convey what people can expect of the city, or country, they are visiting.

We saw something different and more meaningful for London City Airport. With the brave support of London City Airport’s leadership team we have created a new brand for the airport that celebrates the vibrancy of modern London and reflects the love that passengers, and the people who work there have for the airport.

With the new brand, a warm welcome and the building of a new terminal, London City Airport will become the arriving and leaving destination of choice for Londoner’s and world travellers.

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