Finnair, founded in 1923 as Aero, introduced its most enduring visual identity in 1968, the same year the airline made the Finnair name official. The logo was created by Finnish graphic designer Kyösti Varis, who later received the title of honorary professor from the President of Finland in 1983 for his contributions to the field.[1][2][3]
Design and History
Finnair’s official history records that in 1968 the airline “revealed its new logo and made the name change official.”[1] Aero had been using the Finnair name in marketing since 1953, but the 1968 rebranding cemented the transition.[1]
The 1968 mark, designed by Kyösti Varis, featured a stylized uppercase “F” with a tail, placed inside a blue circle, accompanied by an italicized all-caps wordmark.[4][5] The symbol remained in use until 2000.[4]
In 2000, the logo was updated by the advertising agency SEK & Grey, which increased the number of rounded corners and moved the “F” to the right side of the composition.[6] A further refinement followed in 2010, when Finnair renewed its entire visual identity. The company stated that the new logo was “developed from the present logo,” preserving the blue and white colouring while giving the F symbol and wordmark “a more dynamic and modern role as distinct elements.”[7] SEK & Grey was again the partner for the identity renewal.[7]
Meaning and Symbolism
The 1968 Finnair symbol is widely described as depicting a bird in flight beneath a blue sky, a concept attributed to Kyösti Varis.[3][8] A Finnish-language design thesis describes the mark as one in which the letter F is shaped into an airplane.[4] The blue circle surrounding the F has been interpreted as representing the globe.[6]
Typography and Design
The wordmark accompanying Varis’s 1968 symbol used an italicized all-caps typeface with some rounded corners.[5] The 2010 identity renewal preserved the dark blue colour of the logo while introducing white and silver as complementary tones.[7]
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