Intro
‘The Future of Aviation CMF’ is a project created by Jelena Labudovic during her time as Envisage’s Colour, Materials, and Finish (CMF) intern. For this project, she created a CMF strategy to elevate a budget airline interior to compete with existing business classes. Throughout Jelena’s project, she collaborated with Envisage’s in-house Trim Studio and Paint Technologies to develop her bespoke material and paint samples.
The Research
Just like any CMF strategy, research was a key aspect of Jelena’s project. Regulations and recommendations are extremely important for aerospace to ensure the highest levels of safety. Material choices for each concept had to consider these, as well as considering brand identity of the chosen budget airline, EasyJet, current market trends, and the given brief.
Adventurous, Calming, and Simplicity
Three personas were created for this project who would travel using a budget airline. The 26-year-old solo traveller on a short trip wants their personal space and is looking for adventure whilst exploring culture in Mediterranean Europe.
A 35-year-old mother travelling with her young family on a budget, seeking a calming family-friendly European holiday. She needs a well-deserved break in comfort from the chaos of the airport and travelling with children.
Finally, a 29-year-old businesswoman travelling to European hubs of business seeks a flight that is professional and simple, wanting to utilise her time in the air to be productive.
A Trip Abroad
With the most popular EasyJet holiday destinations being in the Mediterranean, this theme is designed to enhance the passenger experience by immersing them in the feel of their holiday destinations. It conveys Mediterranean architecture and landscapes, by introducing bold colours and coastal textures. Stone effect surfaces, rustic wood, and woven materials reflect the coastal landscape, buildings, and traditional material techniques within mediterranean regions.
In this concept, seats are trimmed with smooth leather that is perforated to make it breathable. The seat features yellow piping and EasyJet orange accents adding to the bright holiday feel. On the armrests, a fabric with 3D printed mesh (developed in house) has been used to create a textured effect, representing mediterranean woven baskets. A lightweight plastic made from recycled materials, with blue and yellow flecks creating a stone-like effect, is used on flat surfaces representing a coastal landscape.
The orange paint developed for this concept is derived from the current EasyJet bright orange, enhanced by adding metallic flakes to reflect the ocean’s shimmer.
Comfort
Due to the busy nature of air travel, particularly in high passenger density aeroplanes, comfort is of the utmost importance. This material selection and soft colour palette is inspired by the home. It features green elements and muted colours which is a current trend within the home and is complimentary of orange. Vertical partitions are an accent feature in homes and have been used in a similar way in the entrance of the aircraft.
The vertical theme is continued into the seating with vertical blanket stitches. A cotton backing with a waterproof finish and cork flecks has been used on seat surrounds as an accent feature with added texture. Woven safety flooring also creates the feeling of a home away from home while also being easy to clean.
A muted, calming orange with a matte finish and pearlescent topping showing gold highlights in the light was created for this concept to convey the feeling of calm and comfort.
Orange Spirit
This final concept was chosen to be developed further. It captures EasyJet’s drive for positivity, inclusivity, and purpose. Taking inspiration from the company motto “Living the Orange Spirit” and corporate workspaces, this concept is bright, positive, and welcoming. Corporate culture is embodied by using utilitarian materials and breathable textiles. Smooth and lightweight metal and wood veneers appear in Orange Spirit, creating a clean aesthetic. Easy to clean wood safety flooring is used in high traffic areas, whilst carpet with orange highlights is kept under the seating area, reminiscent of corporate setting
An asymmetrical pattern features throughout Orange Spirit in the entrance and on the seat stitching to further enhance a dynamic corporate aesthetic. The pattern is stitched onto the seats to create a quilted effect for comfort as well as visual appeal. The chosen seat materials are breathable, lightweight, and clean looking, with the lighter material featuring on the surrounding areas and orange in the main seat area. Wood veneer features on flat surfaces where plastic would typically be used fitting the corporate environment.
This overhead storage uses transparent and white Perspex to make the area user friendly, with a warm light shone through creating an interesting feature in a typically overlooked space. The Orange Spirit paint was developed using Pantone Reference 1375U and has a pearlescent gold finish. It was created to be a clean, corporate orange with a slightly metallic look.
Exterior Livery
Our CMF team can support exterior design as well as interior CMF concepts. As part of the project Jelena researched how the exterior of EasyJet planes could be uplifted to raise brand awareness and fit its new re-design. A gradient exterior was created as this design approach had not been previously explored. It can increase brand visibility on the plane exterior without adding too much weight and cost. Current EasyJet aircrafts also don’t feature their logo on the underbelly, something else Jelena has considered within the design to increase brand visibility.
Conclusion
Our team are experts in ensuring the designs and CMF choices they offer fit any given brief by our clients. Through thorough research and collaborating with the various capabilities Envisage offer, we deliver a bespoke service supporting our clients in shaping the future. For more information about how our CMF team can support your next project contact Mick Bradley (mbradley@envisagegroupltd.com).
