Virgin america Does April Fools’ proper

The culture of logo and branding finds has grown increasingly absurd in recent years. So absurd that Virgin the us made it the butt of an April Fools’ Day joke—and it’s a damn just right prank.

In a video and weblog post, Virgin founder Richard Branson and his design team element the origins of a brand new emblem, the use of the more or less self-necessary, pretentious language which is turn into widespread in such announcements. in truth, if it weren’t for a few obtrusive tip-offs to the satirical story—a fashion designer clutching a pair of doves and lewd napkin sketches, to name simply two—it might probably cross off as professional. good work, Branson and team.

here’s how the staff describes the “new” emblem:

ultimately, every stroke of our new brand represents the essence of who we are—and what we imply to folks. the combo of sharp angles and sleek, attractive, supple curves are meant to shock and pleasure upon repeat views—but additionally spotlight humanity’s inherently contradictory nature, the yin and yang, the id and the ego, the fact that infrequently we need to keep connected and work with fleet-vast Wi-Fi, and every so often we need to simply relax and chill out with on-demand entertainment, food, and drink.

“It represents the human-established design which is on the core of Virgin the usa,” one fashion designer quips. Virgin took the prank to the next stage by using inventing a faux ingenious agency—N_Fuzion—and constructing a web page for it. here is how the corporate explains arriving on the design:

to reach the look and feel, a team of 15 designers spent over 2,500 hours perfecting the perfect form of the circles. if truth be told, for those who appear intently, you’ll see that each circle is designed to imitate the nose of our Airbus A320 airplane. to succeed in this effect, Connor had us bodily get rid of your entire nostril and flight deck of certainly one of our aircraft. The 14-ton part used to be then lifted with a crane onto an enormous sheet of paper the size of an entire football field, at which point Connor traced the form with a charcoal pencil to achieve the thick, bold lines you see bordering the brand.

The video options Branson sketching doodles of pictures that he is “at all times been drawn to,” that have been then tacked onto a wall—à la Ideo’s famous post-it ideation sessions. The designers then riff on the sketches to boost the concept that.

One anonymous Co.Design staffer when put next the ensuing symbol to a go-your-coronary heart bra, which might beef up how Virgin says that half its design represents its “supportive strategy to visitor care.” (the opposite 1/2 is “tech-forward innovation.”) really, it looks like a pair of Truck Nuts, however it’s good to additionally say it is eerily reminiscent of the bottom half of of Airbnb’s Belo. coincidence? doubtful.

For the story in the back of Virgin’s actual logo, we’ve got got you covered.