The original idea for this post was to document the history of Air Force One, the Presidential aircraft. In 2016, a stunning new Boeing 747-8 will replace the Boeing VC-25 that has been in use since 1985. Hearing that, made me look back at the history of the aircraft, which led me to the work of Raymond Loewy. Also known as the Father of Streamling, his body of work is incredibly immense and too vast for this post so I will concentrate only on the portion of his work related to Air Force One.
After a brief but promising career as a fashion illustrator, Raymond
Loewy dedicated his talent to the field of industrial design. Loewy's
creative genius was innate, and his effect on the industry was
immediate. He literally revolutionized the industry, working as a
consultant for more than 200 companies and creating product designs for
everything from cigarette packs and refrigerators, to cars and
spacecrafts. Loewy lived by his own famous MAYA principle - Most
Advanced Yet Acceptable. He believed that, "The adult public's taste is
not necessarily ready to accept the logical solutions to their
requirements if the solution implies too vast a departure from what they
have been conditioned into accepting as the norm."
A popular lecturer as well, Loewy spoke at institutions
such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University,
and the University of Leningrad. He founded three design companies:
Raymond Loewy and Associates, New York; Raymond Loewy International,
London; and Compagnie de I'Esthetique Industrielle, Paris. His writings
include The Locomotive: Its Aesthetics (1937), the autobiography Never
Leave Well Enough Alone (1951) and Industrial Design (1951).
The Gestetner duplicator was the first of countless items
transformed by streamlining, a technique that Loewy is credited with
originating. Calling the concept "beauty through function and
simplification," Loewy spent over 50 years streamlining everything from
postage stamps to spacecrafts. His more famous creations include the
Lucky Strike cigarette package, the GG1 and S1 locomotives, the
slenderized Coca-Cola bottle, the John F. Kennedy memorial postage
stamp, the interior of Saturn I, Saturn V, and Skylab, the Greyhound bus
and logo, the Shell International logo, the Exxon logo, the U.S. Postal
Service emblem, a line of Frigidaire refrigerators, ranges, and
freezers, and the Studebaker Avanti, Champion and Starliner.
By 1951, his industrial design firm was so prolific that
he was able to claim, "the average person, leading a normal life,
whether in the country, a village, a city, or a metropolis, is bound to
be in daily contact with some of the things, services, or structures in
which R.L.A [Raymond Loewy Associates] was a party during the design or
planning stage."
"For all the interest in the “flying White House,” we generally
ignore its blue-and-white paint job, serif lettering and heraldry,
a graphic scheme rich in history.
The tale of its origins is almost urban legend: as I had heard
the story told, Raymond Loewy was hired by Jackie Kennedy to create
a smart graphic identity for President Kennedy, who was then being
flown in a Boeing 707. That design—white on top, polished metal on
bottom, with two hues of blue in-between—remain on the current 747,
along with all-caps Caslon reading “United States of America,” the
presidential seal on the sides and the American flag on the
tail.
The specific origins of the design, like pretty much everything from the Loewy office, are obscured in mystery. Loewy talked about the design in his 1976 book Industrial Design and claimed to have spread out his drawings in the Oval Office to go over the design with JFK. Loewy told of three-hour-long sessions with the president, working on the floor with scissors and rubber cement.
In this typewritten account, Loewy writes that he saw President
Kennedy's 707 for the first time in March 1962, when JFK flew into
Palm Springs, where Loewy had a house. (That's the famous trip,
March 23–25, during which Frank Sinatra had hoped to host Kennedy,
but Sinatra's mob connections led the president's handlers to avoid
him. In frustration, Sinatra personally took a sledgehammer to the
concrete helipad he had built for the president's arrival when,
adding insult to injury, he learned that JFK was staying with Bing
Crosby, instead.)
Loewy met with Gen. Godfrey T. McHugh, the president's Air Force
aide, in charge of his travel. He had known McHugh for a long
time—a reminder of the sort of networking for which Loewy was
famous, and probably a lesson for us all. Loewy recalled pointing
out “the unbelievably poor manner in which the paint was applied”
and the “rather gaudy” color scheme of the plane. “I felt that the
new aircraft could become an image of the American government,” he
wrote, “and that its appearance should be impeccable in every way.
Loewy said he and his firm would be happy to donate their
services.
His offer accepted, the designer showed up at the White House that May with four graphic schemes and five lettering alternatives. Loewy credits his graphics department, headed by Roy Larsen, with the lettering. The first proposals, according to Loewy, were based on a red theme, the Air Force standard. ”Together we arranged the panels on armchairs lined up against the west wall and the president without hesitation selected one of the graphics.“ His choice was also the one Loewy preferred." Courtesy of here
Here is how Wiki tells this collaboration:
Under John F. Kennedy presidential air travel officially entered the jet age.[18] He had used the Eisenhower-era jets for trips to Canada, France, Austria and the United Kingdom.[19] However, in October 1962, the administration purchased a Boeing C-137 Stratoliner, a modified long-range 707—Special Air Mission (SAM) 26000.[20]
The Air Force had attempted a special presidential livery of their own design: a scheme in red and metallic gold, with the nation's name in block letters. Kennedy felt the aircraft appeared too regal, and, on advice from his wife, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, he contacted the French-born American industrial designer Raymond Loewy for help in designing a new livery and interiors for the VC-137 jet.[2] Loewy met with the president, and his earliest research on the project took him to the National Archives, where he looked at the first printed copy of the United States Declaration of Independence, and saw the country's name set widely spaced and in upper case in a typeface called Caslon. He chose to expose the polished aluminum fuselage on the bottom side, and used two blues; a slate-blue associated with the early republic and the presidency, and a more contemporary cyan to represent the present and future. The presidential seal was added to both sides of the fuselage near the nose, a large American flag was painted on the tail, and the sides of the aircraft read "United States of America" in all capital letters. Loewy's work won immediate praise from the president and the press. The VC-137 markings were adapted for the larger VC-25 when it entered service in 1990.
Interestingly, Boeing makes no mention of Loewy, stating only that Jackie Kennedy designed the logo and color scheme.
After a brief but promising career as a fashion illustrator, Raymond
Loewy dedicated his talent to the field of industrial design. Loewy's
creative genius was innate, and his effect on the industry was
immediate. He literally revolutionized the industry, working as a
consultant for more than 200 companies and creating product designs for
everything from cigarette packs and refrigerators, to cars and
spacecrafts. Loewy lived by his own famous MAYA principle - Most
Advanced Yet Acceptable. He believed that, "The adult public's taste is
not necessarily ready to accept the logical solutions to their
requirements if the solution implies too vast a departure from what they
have been conditioned into accepting as the norm."
A popular lecturer as well, Loewy spoke at institutions
such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University,
and the University of Leningrad. He founded three design companies:
Raymond Loewy and Associates, New York; Raymond Loewy International,
London; and Compagnie de I'Esthetique Industrielle, Paris. His writings
include The Locomotive: Its Aesthetics (1937), the autobiography Never
Leave Well Enough Alone (1951) and Industrial Design (1951).Raymond Loewy launched his career in industrial design in 1929 when Sigmund Gestetner, a British manufacturer of duplicating machines, commissioned him to improve the appearance of a mimeograph machine. In three days 28-year-old Loewy designed the shell that was to encase Gestetner duplicators for the next 40 years. In the process, he helped launch a profession that has changed the look of America.
The Gestetner duplicator was the first of countless items
transformed by streamlining, a technique that Loewy is credited with
originating. Calling the concept "beauty through function and
simplification," Loewy spent over 50 years streamlining everything from
postage stamps to spacecrafts. His more famous creations include the
Lucky Strike cigarette package, the GG1 and S1 locomotives, the
slenderized Coca-Cola bottle, the John F. Kennedy memorial postage
stamp, the interior of Saturn I, Saturn V, and Skylab, the Greyhound bus
and logo, the Shell International logo, the Exxon logo, the U.S. Postal
Service emblem, a line of Frigidaire refrigerators, ranges, and
freezers, and the Studebaker Avanti, Champion and Starliner.By 1951, his industrial design firm was so prolific that
he was able to claim, "the average person, leading a normal life,
whether in the country, a village, a city, or a metropolis, is bound to
be in daily contact with some of the things, services, or structures in
which R.L.A [Raymond Loewy Associates] was a party during the design or
planning stage."
For an incredible, in-depth look at the life and work of Loewy visit here
Raymond Loewy, Jackie Kennedy and Air Force One
The tale of its origins is almost urban legend: as I had heard
the story told, Raymond Loewy was hired by Jackie Kennedy to create
a smart graphic identity for President Kennedy, who was then being
flown in a Boeing 707. That design—white on top, polished metal on
bottom, with two hues of blue in-between—remain on the current 747,
along with all-caps Caslon reading “United States of America,” the
presidential seal on the sides and the American flag on the
tail.The specific origins of the design, like pretty much everything from the Loewy office, are obscured in mystery. Loewy talked about the design in his 1976 book Industrial Design and claimed to have spread out his drawings in the Oval Office to go over the design with JFK. Loewy told of three-hour-long sessions with the president, working on the floor with scissors and rubber cement.
In this typewritten account, Loewy writes that he saw President
Kennedy's 707 for the first time in March 1962, when JFK flew into
Palm Springs, where Loewy had a house. (That's the famous trip,
March 23–25, during which Frank Sinatra had hoped to host Kennedy,
but Sinatra's mob connections led the president's handlers to avoid
him. In frustration, Sinatra personally took a sledgehammer to the
concrete helipad he had built for the president's arrival when,
adding insult to injury, he learned that JFK was staying with Bing
Crosby, instead.)His offer accepted, the designer showed up at the White House that May with four graphic schemes and five lettering alternatives. Loewy credits his graphics department, headed by Roy Larsen, with the lettering. The first proposals, according to Loewy, were based on a red theme, the Air Force standard. ”Together we arranged the panels on armchairs lined up against the west wall and the president without hesitation selected one of the graphics.“ His choice was also the one Loewy preferred." Courtesy of here
Here is how Wiki tells this collaboration: Under John F. Kennedy presidential air travel officially entered the jet age.[18] He had used the Eisenhower-era jets for trips to Canada, France, Austria and the United Kingdom.[19] However, in October 1962, the administration purchased a Boeing C-137 Stratoliner, a modified long-range 707—Special Air Mission (SAM) 26000.[20]
The Air Force had attempted a special presidential livery of their own design: a scheme in red and metallic gold, with the nation's name in block letters. Kennedy felt the aircraft appeared too regal, and, on advice from his wife, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, he contacted the French-born American industrial designer Raymond Loewy for help in designing a new livery and interiors for the VC-137 jet.[2] Loewy met with the president, and his earliest research on the project took him to the National Archives, where he looked at the first printed copy of the United States Declaration of Independence, and saw the country's name set widely spaced and in upper case in a typeface called Caslon. He chose to expose the polished aluminum fuselage on the bottom side, and used two blues; a slate-blue associated with the early republic and the presidency, and a more contemporary cyan to represent the present and future. The presidential seal was added to both sides of the fuselage near the nose, a large American flag was painted on the tail, and the sides of the aircraft read "United States of America" in all capital letters. Loewy's work won immediate praise from the president and the press. The VC-137 markings were adapted for the larger VC-25 when it entered service in 1990.
Interestingly, Boeing makes no mention of Loewy, stating only that Jackie Kennedy designed the logo and color scheme.
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