Flying together

New United airline tweaks logo, keeps a piece of Continental, but whiffs ongoing bold

What could have been — A blogger's version of a new combined logo based on SaulBass's design
The fresh, new United: bold, blocky caps and Continental's wire globe
The livery and colors from Continental will stay.
Photo by Tammy Bryngelson

When the logo for the new United was unveiled after the merger with Continental in May, design snobs scoffed over the revised corporate symbol — in essence, the blue Continental serif logo and wire globe with only the names of the airlines swapped out.

After three months, the new United airline goliath has released its official logo — keeping the globe image (used by Continental since 1991) and replacing the dated 1990s serif text with sleek, bold, sans-serif capitals.

In an attempt to keep brand recognition of both airlines intact, United will also hold onto Continental's colors — cerulean blue, white and a hint of gold — on the airplane's livery, combined with the new United text.

The new font and color combo does indeed look more modern and less patched together — altogether more worthy of the world's largest airline.

But design connoisseurs note that the companies already had something in common — logos designed in the 1970s by the legendary Saul Bass.

While I don't dislike the new choice, I love the idea posted on branding and design blog Subjective Object to take Bass's red, swooping Continental logo, give it a tweak and a color update and make it an image of the united company with both style and a sense of history.

unspecified

Thanks, Queen Bey

Pop icon Beyoncé donates $100,000 to University of Houston Law School

Photo by Erza Shaw Getty Images

undefined

Pop megastar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter has donated $100,000 to the University of Houston Law Center Criminal Justice Clinic through her BeyGOOD Foundation. The gift will allow the clinic to hire fill-time faculty to head it, benefiting the students who study there.

“I am delighted that the BeyGOOD Foundation has made this very generous gift to the UH Law Center,” said Leonard Baynes, dean of the UH Law Center. “Not only will this funding help establish a full-time criminal justice clinic that provides pro bono legal services in our community, but it will also supercharge our already excellent criminal law and justice programming.”

The clinic is one of nine at UHLC. It helps students learn to navigate the criminal justice system, especially on behalf of clients that are underserved by skilled attorneys. People of color are affected disproportionately by a lack of good, ethical representation.

Beyoncé, the most decorated artist in Grammy history and easily the biggest musical star native to Houston, has a long history of advocating for criminal justice reform. She was a staunch supporter of the police reform following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, asking law enforcement to “stop killing us” in a web post. In 2020, she penned an open letter to the Kentucky attorney general asking for justice in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Through her BeyGOOD Foundation, established in 2013, Beyoncé has focused mostly on expanding the prospects of Black-owned business and offering education opportunities to students. Forwarding the cause of legal representation in Texas while also helping out marginalized communities compliments her other philanthropic work.

“At UH Law, we envision a legal profession where ‘everyone has the opportunity to prosper,’ as BeyGOOD envisions, and we will achieve this vision by providing access to strong and effective legal representation in criminal proceedings,” Baynes said. “And together, through this gift, the BeyGOOD Foundation and UHLC will shepherd the next generation of criminal justice attorneys in the city of Houston, the state of Texas and the nation.”