Song, LLC, was a low-cost air service, which worked as a subsidiary of Delta Airlines. It offered flights to leisure destinations, primarily between Florida and the northeastern US (especially New York). Also, Song flew between Florida and the West Coast, as well as between the Northeast and the West Coast, although these destinations weren’t its priority. Its main competitor was JetBlue Airways. The brand ceased to exist in 2006, while its assets became part of Delta again.
The Song logo didn’t change at all during its history. That’s hardly a surprise, taking into consideration that the company only operated for about three years. The logo contained both the “flight” theme, to show that it belongs to an airline, and the “music” theme, to fit the name of the brand. Also, there was something fashionable and feminine about it, not to mention that it alluded to the map of the US.
At the turn of the century, Delta was going through a difficult period. The low-cost airline JetBlue Airways, which had been only just created, was growing more and more popular. To gain back its profits, Delta launched a low-cost subbrand having an unusual marketing approach. This was the first airline that was developed to fit the tastes of female customers. To be precise, Song’s target audience was hip, style-conscious professionals, not just any women.
To cater for the tastes of this rather discerning, sophisticated group, the airline introduced such features as healthy organic meals, customized cocktails by legendary Rande Gerber, as well as an in-flight exercise program developed by David Barton, who was at his height back then being one of the most popular fitness experts in New York City.
What was Song
Song was a low-cost subsidiary of Delta Airlines which worked from 2003 to 2006 before being reverted to Delta. In its heyday in 2005, the fleet flown by Song consisted of over 48 Boeing 757-200s, while the number of destinations reached 16.
We can also mention that the flight safety instructions were given in the form of a song or another artistic rendition, whereas the uniform worn by the pilots and stewardesses was developed by Kate Spade.
The Song logo, in its turn, was created in the New York office of Landor Associates, one of the world’s best-known brand consulting firms.
The design combined the wordmark in blue with a creative and feminine emblem in green.
The highlight of the logo was the emblem. It can be described as a green ball flying at high speed and leaving a long tail behind. The design might have been inspired by a comet, yet, the trajectory seems too unusual for a comet. It looks like the ball is a living organism, which chose to fly in a way that isn’t straightforward.
For instance, the trajectory forms a loop in its left part. The loop looks pretty much like the pink ribbon, the symbol of breast cancer awareness. Except that it’s green, of course. Such a shape is a contribution to the “feminine” theme in the logo.
What’s even more obvious, the trajectory looks like a stylized representation of the route connecting New York with Florida. The “route” interpretation is emphasized by the fact that the end of the “tail” also features a small ball. So, the two balls are like two points on the map connected by a curved line.
The combination of dark blue with a bald, unusual shade of green creates a memorable color scheme. The wordmark featured a rather generic sans serif typeface. If you take a closer look, you may notice that there was some experimenting with the width of the strokes in the “s” and “o,” but you’ll hardly find any other distinctive features in the typography of the Song logo.