Brand Strategy

Brand Strategy

Identity Design

Identity Design

A national icon, redrawn for the next chapter

Year

2025

Client

Korean Air

Timeframe

4 years

As

Lippincott Team

BRIEF

Korean Air didn't need a reinvention - it needed an evolution. With the Asiana Airlines acquisition marking a new chapter, the brief was to modernize an already iconic brand while carrying forward 50 years of heritage. The client was clear: the distinctive light blue aircraft livery wasn't a problem to solve, it was an asset to elevate. The challenge was expressing a next-chapter vision without erasing what made Korean Air unmistakable.

Korean Air didn't need a reinvention - it needed an evolution. With the Asiana Airlines acquisition marking a new chapter, the brief was to modernize an already iconic brand while carrying forward 50 years of heritage. The client was clear: the distinctive light blue aircraft livery wasn't a problem to solve, it was an asset to elevate. The challenge was expressing a next-chapter vision without erasing what made Korean Air unmistakable.

SOLUTION

The answer lived in refinement, not replacement. The Taegeuk was redrawn - simplified to a single Korean Air Dark Blue, its curves channeling the flowing energy of Sangmo Nori. The logotype "KOREAN AIR" introduced brush-stroke-inspired letterforms that render Korean elegance in a contemporary register. For the livery, the signature light blue was preserved but pushed further: a custom metallic paint was developed specifically for Korean Air, giving the aircraft a premium presence that shifts with light. The result honours 41 years of iconic design while projecting a brand ready for the next 50.

MY ROLE

Completed as Brand Strategist/Designer at Lippincott Seoul


  • Visual benchmarking and cultural research

  • Development of modern Korean visual references

  • Aircraft livery colour evaluation and documentation

  • On-site coordination between global design teams and client teams

  • On-site inspection of livery masking across aircraft sizes

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hojo

Brand strategist and designer working at the intersection of systems thinking, identity, and experience

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The right answer begins with a better question

Whether it's a brand, a system, or something harder to name

hojo

Brand strategist and designer working at the intersection of systems thinking, identity, and experience

You can also email me at:

The right answer begins with a better question

Whether it's a brand, a system, or something harder to name

hojo

Brand strategist and designer working at the intersection of systems thinking, identity, and experience

You can also email me at:

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