Alexander Girard: End of the Plain Plane
In the mid-60s, Braniff International Airways, determined to mark “the end of the plain plane,” approached designer Alexander Girard to create an eye-catching visual identity for the company.
Having the opportunity to express himself on a truly grand scale, Girard left no aspect of the airline untouched. He designed Braniff’s logo, its boarding lounges, inflight stationary, ground equipment, and even the packages for its coffee and sugar. He had the entire fleet of airplanes painted hues ranging from deep grey to vermillion. “You can fly our airline seven times and never fly the same color twice,” boasted one Braniff executive.
In 1967, Girard designed a collection of furniture for use in Braniff’s lounges. Including chairs, sofas, and tables, the designs, while beautiful, were exorbitantly expensive to produce. As a result, Herman Miller only made the collection for two years.
In his effort to transform Braniff into “the most beautiful airline in the world” Girard initiated 17, 543 changes. His work received acclaim from both the press and public and certainly drew customers to the airline.
Unfortunately, Alexander Girard’s Braniff designs are no longer available today.
Nice post. The renewed interest in the body of work left by Alexander Girard is inspiring. There was an informative keynote at the AIA Ohio Valley Region Convention in September about Mr. Girard’s contributions given by Brad Dunning. Of interest was the helping hand Mr. Girard gave to Charles and Ray Eames in making “Parade Parade”, as well as his work for the interiors of Eero Saarinen’s Irwin Miller House in Columbus, IN. I don’t remember seeing any of the aircraft painted in Mr. Girard’s designs, but I have heard that Braniff’s Boeing 747 shown in the post was nicknamed “The Great Pumpkin.”