Iran Air
Next up in Redesigning Iran is the logo of Iran’s national airline. It’s one of the most beloved brands in the country, so much so that despite most other national logos being redesigned after the 1978 revolution, the iconic Iran Air mark survived and is used to this day.
Origins
According to the airline’s (horrendous-looking) website, the original logo was selected in 1961 as the winning entry from the airline’s public design competition. 22-year-old Edward Zohrabian was the designer.
The inspiration for the logo comes from Homa, the Persian mythological griffin that appears on top of the columns of Persepolis (you may remember the same creature from the piece on Persepolis). The use of Homa is truly an inspired move; not only is it a fantastical flying creature of historic significance, but the word Homa is also in Persian the acronym for “National Iranian Airline.” I clearly remember how impressed I was about this the first time I learned about it as a child.
New logo
The Iran Air logo frequently makes best-of lists for airline brands. I was always going to handle it with care. To simplify the logo while maintaining and celebrating the essence of it I used the squint test to determine the absolute essential elements of Homa:
I used this to reconstruct the Homa form in the simplest way I could, making frequent use of perfect ovals and golden ratio curves where I could:
I was pretty happy with that last one. I’m particularly fond of the wing’s three parts (yes, I’m a sucker for Adidas). The three stripes can be used as a secondary branding element. For the type as well, I didn’t want to steer too far away from the original Helvetica. So I went with the slightly more breathy classic Avenir. Here it is, with some applications. I hope you like it.
Thanks for coming this far. If you liked it, the t-shirts are available at my online store Iranian Apparel (and they’re on sale for a few more days).
About the author
Pendar is a former amateur blogger, ex- dabbler in web comics, serial clothing line creator, and featherweight influencing champion who gave up the glamours of the expat blogging social scene for a career in interaction design. He now lives with his wife and two cats in sunny California. Outside of corporate slavery he illustrates legendary kings and runs IranianApparel.com.
