Exploring Croatia Airlines Rebranding

DALLAS — To coincide with Croatia Airlines (OU) 35th anniversary, the company decided to refresh its visual identity.

The redesign is accompanied by a new fleet, starting with the addition of the Airbus A220-100 and A220-300. 

Leading the charge in the rebranding process, the company's designer, Ivana Ivanković, has developed the new visual identity by simplifying and modernizing the existing one.

The tail design integrates with the aircraft's traditional design, a signature feature of the airline. 

Strong Historical Connections

The new identity is strongly connected to Croatia's historical flag, which is red and dark blue. The secondary colors pay homage to Croatia's European roots.

As part of the rebranding, the new aircraft that join the fleet in the next three years will be equipped with this new visual identity. All promotional material and sales points will be updated while the current inventory decreases.

The airline says this progressive change will allow passengers and stakeholders to experience both identities, reflecting the airline's past, present, and future.

More of a Refresh than a Rebranding

To be fair, it is a more simplified version of OU's current branding, so perhaps calling it a redesign is a bit of a stretch.

It's a refresh of the logo, and the tail will have two rows of diagonally placed squares rather than the current three rows. The branding detail on the A220 canted winglets will for sure look cool, though.

Croatia Airlines 35th Anniversary

Croatia Airlines was established on June 1991. That year, the airline signed an agreement with Adria Airways (JP) to lease it first aircraft, a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, to start domestic operations between Zagreb and Split.

The newly-formed airline would soon acquire three Boeing 737s from Lufthansa (LH) and join IATA. As the flag carrier of newly independent Croatia, OU inaugurated first international service on April 5, 1992, from Zagreb to Frankfurt.