Dubai Airport rebranding

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DXB-New logo- Rebrand
Posted on 14/04/2019

Dubai International (Airport) rebranding to DXB

What's behind a new logo?

A new logo, a new look, a new message. The rebranding of any company occurs when an organisation is undergoing a transformation in some way usually it’s new corporate communications strategy.
In other words a big change. If the change big enough it’ll warrant a new visual identity, which tells the outside world ‘we are changing’ and it’s a good thing.

In with the new... out with the old

For the new look to work, the old logo must disappear asap to avoid confusion. Any past association with the old logo and company now needs to be removed from the public eye and replaced toot sweet with the new one.

The 'big change’ at Dubai Airport

“Today we are making a clear statement that will ensure DXB continues to be one of the world’s most innovative and forward-thinking airports for years to come.”  

How will it benefit me?

The new identity marks a starting point of their planned strategy to change. With a new logo the airport announces ‘we are changing to serve you better’. The new identity also reminds airport employees of the internal shift. Together we are committed to transforming the world’s busiest international airport, the world’s best.

How does the average traveler benefit ?

Well only last year we saw the implementation of the new smart gate at immigration which uses retinal scanning ID, resulting in less queues. But more significant there are changes coming. If you’ve listen to the on-board Emirates podcast interview with Sir Tim Clark, he talks about investing a lot of effort trying to reduce queuing time everywhere.
Whether it’s at check-in, security, immigration, boarding and even queuing to pay at duty free. Less queuing means more shopping. Travelers have more time to eat, drink and spend in retail. Waiting in line has to be one of the most frustrating things for people, so if in some way they can reduce queuing time it’ll make everyone happy.

The Brand Message

With a new logo comes a new message or positioning statement as marketeers like to call it. 
Officially their press statement includes “We are committed to transforming the world’s busiest international airport, the world’s best”.   
The rationale behind this new positioning statement uses terms like, values, Attributes, Personality, Benefits and essence. With the new airport DXB identity it is suppose to represent the values of Dubai City, superb hospitality, vibrant culture, friendly people, tolerant, amazing experiences.

Old verses new

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed commented: “Aviation, tourism and travel have been fundamental in Dubai’s growth story and we believe this investment will yield further dividends by encouraging repeat traffic and enticing connecting passengers to visit Dubai. We recently welcomed our billionth customer at DXB, which was a remarkable milestone. 

Why did they use 'DXB' as the graphic design?

If you’ve ever noticed most aviation related logos often try to incorporate an graphic element that depicts a globe or an aeroplane or an abstract swoosh symbol. With the new DXB logo it uses the aviation abbreviation for Dubai ‘DXB’ and converts it to a simple 3 letter graphic. It’s unique because no other airport has this modern style, it moves away from the predictable symbolism of ‘aviation’ and ‘motion graphics’. The ‘X’ represents multiple pathways or routes converging to one pin point putting Dubai at it’s centre, an aviation hub. The use of yellow with a contrasting darker blue or black colour is typically found in Airport way finding signage, so is appropriate for this reason.

In summary

When a organisation rebrands itself this is usually a positive step for forward any company, it’s staff and customers. As travelers using Dubai Airport we can look forward to an enhanced experience in the future which can only be a good thing for all those travelers who don’t enjoy the airport experience.

 

Sources:

https://dubaiofw.com/dubai-airports-new-brand

http://www.dubaiairports.ae/corporate/media-centre/photo-gallery