El Al Israel Airlines, the flag carrier of Israel, has maintained a visual identity that has evolved through several distinct phases since the airline’s founding in 1948. The current brand language, launched in 2023, centers on an icon inspired by the silhouette of an aircraft window, symbolizing the connection between the safety of home and the adventure awaiting outside.[1]
Design and History
El Al’s first logo, adopted in 1949, was a six-pointed star with added flying wings, designed by the noted Israeli artist Franz Krausz. This mark remained the airline’s principal logo until 1962.[2]
In 1963, Dutch designer Otto Treumann collaborated with George Him, El Al’s design consultant, on the airline’s corporate identity, creating a logo in both Hebrew and Roman lettering.[3] The design featured the airline name in a square format with separate Hebrew and Latin character logos.[4]
Israeli designer Dan Reisinger, who had been involved with El Al since the early 1960s designing destination posters, created a unified Hebrew/Latin logo in 1971 as part of the Boeing 747 livery design.[4] The integrated logo combined the two alphabets into a single statement, with the Hebrew characters angled to parallel the slant of the letter “A” in the English logo, enabling a unified, horizontal image that fit the elongated form of the aircraft.[4] Reisinger described the integrated Hebrew-Latin character logo, with its two-way readability (Hebrew from right to left, Latin from left to right), as creating an image of a bridge between the two cultures.[4]
In 2023, El Al launched a new branding language inspired by the aircraft window, symbolizing both the safety of being home and the adventure awaiting outside.[1] The new brand language was developed by Eureka Branding from the Gitan group, led by CEO Merav Peled.[5] The launch campaign was handled by McCann Tel Aviv.[6]
Meaning and Symbolism
The 2023 brand language introduced a new icon inspired by the silhouette of the aircraft window. According to the company, the window symbolizes the connection between the security of home and the curiosity and adventure of what happens outside.[7] The iconic passenger window in El Al’s new brand language symbolizes the airline’s role as a “bridge between Israel and the world.”[8]
The launch of the new branding included a teaser campaign in which all of El Al’s platforms were painted in royal blue, a color associated with the new branding, without explanation. The following day, all platforms switched to the new brand colors simultaneously.[6]
Typography and Design
Reisinger’s 1971 redesign adjusted the Hebrew letters to match the angle of the letter “A” in the Latin logo, creating a unified, horizontal image suitable for the elongated form of the aircraft.[4] The integrated logo was designed to maintain the Hebrew logo at the same level of visual expression as the Latin character logo while creating internationally recognizable communication.[4]
In 2018, to commemorate Israel’s 70th year of independence, El Al launched a special logo combining a Star of David, an aircraft, and the number 70. The design was inspired by the State of Israel’s logo for the 70th year celebrations and was designed by McCann Tel Aviv.[9]
Logo Index is an independent educational archive covering logos, visual identities and graphic design history. All trademarks and brand assets remain the property of their respective owners.
