case study 04 - part 1 schiphol new logo: the colours. · schiphol new logo: the colours. inez...

Case study 04 part 1: Schiphol new logo: the colours. Inez Michiels. 05/2010

blue-on-whitecode 000.110

case study 04 - part 1Schiphol new logo: the colours.Inez Michiels

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research & consultancyin universal communication

Aarschotplaats 162018 Antwerpen - Belgium

[email protected]

Schiphol old and new

INTRODUCTIONThe International Airport Schiphol in the Netherlands isone of the better airports in the world, which is my experience as a traveller. However, the new logo of Schiphol –work of dBOD Amsterdam office in association with thebrand management of the airport – was not entertainedfavourably in the creative world (see Visual Brand Experience Blog1). All good intentions of the people involved inspite.

Why the new logo is not so well approved? Could it be theused colours and shape? Let us put the logo through agenetic semantic analysis.

1. Visual Brand Experience Bloghttp://mattus.web-log.nl/vibe_visual_brand_experie/2010/01/nieuw-logo-schi.html

The symbols in this text come from the bookSymbolen ConstructiesInez MichielsACCO uitgeverij Leuven, 2006ISBN 90 334 5919 1 NUR 656See www.genecode.be

This paper is the first part of a two part analysisof the new logo of Schiphol International Airport.

CONTENT

INTRODUCTION

THE COLOURS1. INDUSTRY2. HEAVY WORK AND LABOUR3. THE MINING INDUSTRY4. DESCEND IN THE PIT5. TO LIE DOWN, NOT TAKE PART

CONCLUSION



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THE COLOURSWe see two main colours used namely blue and white. Inour study into universal meaning we have proven that colourcombinations are important carriers of emotion, and that theorder in which the two colours appear is fundamental. Hereis chosen for the blue-on-white order, where the blue typeis placed on a white background.

Which message does the airport wants to carryout? In the meagre task description which I wasable to find in the article “Schiphol from colourfulto blue” by Viveka Van De Vliet (AdFormatie 2– 14 January 2010) an emotional message isnowhere postulated. They talk about the needto improve the Schiphol’s brand position. Butwhat implies that brand exactly? What is the‘image’ that Schiphol radiates? What is theaffective value? That has been apparentlyoverlooked.

INDUSTRYall heavy industries, big factorieswhere goods, chemicals or raw

materials are produced.

HARD LABOURHeavy work, the blue-on-whitecombination is often retrieved

concerning hard and harsh labour.

THE MINING INDUSTRYExploration of ores, minerals and

raw materials.

DESCEND IN THE PITThe work of miners and gnomes.

TO LIE DOWNRest, not take part. In publicity formatresses, beach chairs and in

holiday imaging.

By placing blue above white one says among other things the following:

gnome

industry miner

holiday

hard labour



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1. INDUSTRY

Logo Crédit à l’industrie (Loans forthe industry) ex Belgium bank.

Logo The Factory First Baptist Church Willis.

The Candle Factory logo by StefanMorgan.

Logo for the Ankara Chamber of Industry Turkey.

Publication of the Ministry ofEconomy, Trade and IndustryJapan.

industry



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Randstad website Vedior

BIK.

Gregg Interim, “I am at work”. The workingman in blue outfit

Be-twin

“I want, will find, work” publicleaflet Belgium.

2. HEAVY WORK, HARD LABOURBlue-on-white combination in the imaging of some interimoffices.

hard labour



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Blue-white stripes on prison outfits in prisons andwork camps. Impression of hard labour campKöningsgraben during WWII. ( c. University of SouthFlorida).

The shovel as a symbol of that hard labour.The shovel of EDS just digs.

All heavy professions such as thatof a miner. A miner and a messagefrom Pitman, Historical coal mining.

Agrarian Newspaper online. Painting of a farmer and his wife.

A sailor. Zeeman (sailor), logo fora clothing and household shop.

hard labour

work camps

miner sailorfarmer



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The gnomes who dig upcoals, minerals and …plants.

The Hole, movieposter.

3. THE MINING INDUSTRYMiner. Gitennes Exploration. Mineral Care, draw the mineralsfrom down the hole to the surface.

4. DESCEND IN THE PIT“If you compare this with the power of for example the airportof Dubai, Schiphol seems to have a dark vision on the future”says blogger Joris from .

The miner at work in the pit. Romans going down the hole.

gnomeminer



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The body bearing is lying down. Blue-white stripes on pyamas andmatresses. “I don’t want to go to bed”, bookcover. Silentnight Beds.Cartoon.

In holiday imaging: the hammock, the beachchair. Holiday leaflet “The blue trunk for acarefree holiday”. Secret Ravine Estates:

holiday resort logo.

5. TO LIE DOWNRest, not take part, to retrieve in publicity for mattresses.

Aerosleep, Relyon, Beka.

Lying down and not able to move.“Afraid to get hooked on barbiturates?”Preventive Association Belgium.

holiday



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CONCLUSIONThere can be no discussion concerning the colourcombination. Blue is placed here explicitly above white. Thatis confirmed by the light grey shape on the background. Thelight grey colour is experienced as white and the used shapes,the little cubes, have semantically the same emotional valueas the white colour has (concerning the shape and the stripes,more in next blog). In the article from AdFormatie is onlyspoken of the blue colour, but that is exactly the mistake onemakes, namely not realizing that you are working with colourcombinations. A more correct title for the article should havebeen: “Schiphol from red-on-blue to blue-on-white”.

There is little to defend the blue-on-white combination inrelation to airport services. Schiphol produces no goods orraw materials and is as such not an ‘industry’. The feelingof hard or heavy labour should not be aroused within anairport context, to my opninion. Neither have mattresses andbeach chairs something in common with airports. The nearestuse of that image is in the world of travel agencies.This new logo in blue-on-white is a perfect example of amissed message. The keyword ‘airport’ is not supported bythe used colour combination, thus placing the observer, thereceiver of the message, in a state of confusion.

Continue reading part 2 of this case study, Schiphol logo,the shape.

The blog:http://geneticcoding.wordpress.com/2010/04/28/schiphol-new-logo-shape/The pdf:http://www.genecode.be/en/casestudy0402_en.pdf

case study 04 - part 1 schiphol new logo: the colours. · schiphol new logo: the colours. inez...

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