Earn Our Wings
The Complexity
Eastern was relaunching into one of the most competitive categories in the world and needed a brand nobody had claimed that honored where they came from.
Founded in 1925, Eastern helped pioneer commercial aviation during a time when air travel carried a genuine sense of wonder. The major carriers had long since moved past that. But there was an audience they had overlooked entirely - travelers flying to and from parts of the world the big airlines had deemed too small to serve. For these travelers, a flight still represented something profound. Eastern’s explorer DNA was built for exactly that audience.
The Idea
We embedded our team alongside the CEO as a fractional marketing lead and re-built the brand for adventurers who wanted direct, nonstop flights to the corners of the world with baggage policies that gave them the freedom to bring everything the journey demanded. The visual identity drew from Eastern’s own archives. Dark blue, light blue, and golden yellow, the colors of sky, sea, and sun, pulled directly from Eastern’s historic palette and reinterpreted for a new era. Topographical maps inspired by the places Eastern would fly replaced a single logo with a living visual system. Brand book, livery, website, fare families, in-flight menus, airport signage, social channels, and media strategy, all of it built from the ground up.
The Outcome
Two months after launch, the pandemic grounded the world. Eastern pivoted quickly, flying stranded passengers home when few others could, and kept the brand flying through one of the most disruptive moments in aviation history.
- Brand Strategy
- Creative Direction
- Art Direction
- Graphic Design
- Identity Design
- CG
- Animation
- Video Production
- Event & Exhibition
- Web Design
We built Eastern a position out of its own history, one nobody else could claim.
- Graceann Bennett - Playbook
- Libby DeLana - Mechanica
- Fernando Pino