- Website design work is in progress. Some content and links will be active mid 2023
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Branding the future of human flight
2014 / Dubai United Arab Emirates
During my employment with XDubai in 2014 I was introduced to Pilot Yves Rossy, inventor of the 100% autonomous human flight.. As a Lead Brand Designer, I was tasked to turn the technological invention into a brand, give it an identity, across multiple platforms and communication touch points.
Scope of work
Brand concept development
Brand identity design
Apparel & pilot suits design
Flight gear, helicopter & wing branding
Digital content direction
Website design
Credits
Filming: Dubai Film
Design assistance: XDubai creative team
Digital agencies: Beyond, Ewaan Tech
Challenge
There were a couple of challenging aspects in this project. First being ‘Jetman’ one of its kind of a brand with no competitor in that time or to benchmark against. The closest industry to it was the aviation industry however, it was the first of its kind of technology where a human could fly with a wing on its back. The second challenging aspect that we discovered after several meetings with Yves and Jetman team was that there was no specific shape to the wing that could be used as a symbol. The wing was ever evolving which means we had to come up with a generic symbol that denotes the idea of ‘flight’ or a wing rather than having a specific shape to it. We wanted to design a symbol that defines the idea of a human flight, yet not constrained to a specific wing shape and could stand the test of time and trends.
Idea and process
We had multiple brainstorming and sketching sessions where the idea was to come up with a symbol that defines human flight and the wing. However since the shape of the wing is ever-evolving, the symbol should be timeless and not bound by the shape of the wing, yet conveys the idea of an autonomous human flight.
Logo
Brand Jetman required a wide range of collaterals including website, brand identity and logo, merchandise and technical wear that included the pilot suits, staff suits and gear for the flights and more.
Pilot suits
Pilot suits were designed in alignment with the brand colors but more the suits were designed in a vibrant color so that the Jetman pilots can be spotted while flying at a height. The suits were technically designed to endure air pressure and have minimal air friction.
The Jetman Protégé
In 2015, experienced skydiver Vince Reffet was introduced as the Jetman Protégé, making a Jetman duo soaring in the skies of Dubai among the tall sky scrappers
Website
Films
Emirates: Hello Jetman
Jetman duo takes a flight next to an Emirates A380
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Young Feathers
The Jetman duo takes on the skies and deserts of Dubai in film Young Feathers
LOFT: The Jetman Story (Norway)
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Mission Human Flight - China
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The Takeoff (2020)
"First time a man has taken off from the ground and flown into the sky"- The Verge
On Friday, February 14th, 2020: Jetman Vince Reffet took off, headed south towards Jumeirah Beach Residence Dubai, building speed and height. In 8 seconds he had reached 100 meters height, in 12 seconds 200m, 19 seconds 500m, and reached 1000m in 30 seconds at an average speed of 130 knots. At the end of a 3-minute flight punctuated by a roll and a loop at 1800m altitude, Jetman Vince Reffet opened his parachute at 1500m before landing back at Skydive Dubai.
It is the first time that a JetmanDubai pilot could combine hovering safely at a limited altitude and flying aerobatics at high altitude in the same flight.
Controlled from the ground by the human body, the equipment enables Jetman Dubai to reach speeds of 400kmh, as well as hovering, changing direction and performing loops.
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Impact
