Elevating the brand experience for aviation pioneers revolutionising the future of flight

Synopsis

The dream of flight is as old as humanity. From winged gods in ancient mythology, to the invention of the kite, and Leonardo da Vinci’s Renaissance studies; the idea of taking to the skies has always intrigued us at a very fundamental, human level.

In 1903 the Wright Brothers successfully flew the first powered aeroplane. Their approach to aeronautical engineering has been used in aeroplanes ever since. Over a hundred years on, and with the world facing a climate emergency, it’s time for change.

Vertical is pioneering electric flight to help with the move towards more sustainable aviation. UK-based but working with the world’s best aerospace partners, Vertical’s mission is to make electric flight accessible and affordable, ushering in a new era of air travel.

Brand

Digital

A New Dawn of Air Travel

With public flights on the horizon, Vertical needed a modern brand and website that appealed not only to commercial partners and investors, but the general public, too. The challenge was to shift the concept of electric air travel from fantasy to reality. And to create a brand and digital experience befitting a company on the brink of revolutionising aviation.

Informed by nature, the colour palette draws inspiration from the sky at different times of the day; combining warm oranges with blue hues. Gradients are used to reflect the notion of new dawn, and, in digital applications, they gently shift like clouds across the sky. Tied to the local time of day, gradients seamlessly cycle from dawn to dusk.

As a way to express the technical and engineering prowess of the company, a new typographic system and bespoke suite of iconography was developed in unison.

The Future has Landed

Working with our CGI partners, renders of the VX4 are used to help visualise the aircraft in action within the locations where Vertical will operate.

Meanwhile, photography offers a glimpse of the work that goes on behind the scenes to make electric flight a reality. With a documentary-like art direction, images are a contrast of wide-angle compositions and tightly-cropped action shots. Playing with depth of field and obstructed framing devices make it feel like the viewer is a part of the action.

“Working out the best ways to visualise the aircraft presented a challenge. Electric flight is a relatively new technology, so we needed to ensure the product felt obtainable and credible. The strategy for tackling this was to frame everything in the present day through the eyes of a passenger.”

Mike, Digital Lead at Fiasco

Elevating the Online Experience

A new digital platform was designed and built with the aim to reflect the company’s vision for the future, whilst introducing the concept of commercial eVTOL flights to the wider public.

Built from the ground-up the site is visually lead. A clean, simplistic framework heroes the product, providing a showcase of cutting-edge aeronautical design and engineering.

There is a quiet confidence to the designs, which is met with a direct and punctual tone of voice which speaks to the British sensibilities at the backbone of the brand.

Motion design is utilised to evoke a feeling of upward and forward momentum. This is brought to life through scroll-based transitions and interactions, offering visitors a smooth ride and gentle landing.

The past few years has seen Vertical transform from a fledgling manufacturer to leading the industry, and Fiasco helped us breathe life into the visual identity, experience and platform to revitalise and reach new audiences. We are thrilled with the result. We have an identity and website that finally does the Vertical brand justice.

Sarah Keegan, Head of Brand Marketing

Thanks to Sarah, Josh and the whole team at Vertical for being open-minded to our ideas and committing whole heartedly to the process.

Special mention to all our fantastic project partners; Jason Booth for creative coding; Nic Kane for lifestyle photography; BloomRealities and Of My Imagination for environment and product CGI; Matt Murphy for illustration; Ally Elphick for the website copy; Nick Jenkins for animation; Deadbeat for film production; and Yatta for motion.