Vertical Aerospace
Powering up the brand experience for pioneers of zero-emissions flight
Vertical is pioneering electric flight to help with the move towards more sustainable aviation. UK-based, working with the world’s best aerospace partners, Vertical’s mission is to make electric flight accessible and affordable, ushering in a new era of aviation.With public flights on the horizon, Vertical needed a modern brand and website that appealed not only to commercial partners and investors, but the general public, too. The challenge was to shift the concept of electric air travel from fantasy to reality, and create a digital experience fit for a company on the brink of revolutionising air travel.
My Role:
- Project lead
- Digital Strategy
- Visual Identity
- UX Design
- UI Design
- Art Direction
Completed in 2024
Full case study at Fiasco
Featured in Creative Boom
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A new dawn of travel,
The way forward, is up.
The clue is in the name. We centred the brand idea around vertical lift. “The way forward, is up.” speaks to the company name, the way the aircraft moves as well as the social, economic and environmental impact the technology is set to affect. We used this as a north star and creative platform to ideate around.
Inspired by the way the aircraft moves, we created a visual narrative to showcase the technology and illustrate it’s capabilities. We wanted to explore how our brand idea could manifest across different elements on the website such as colour, motion, 3D, illustration and photography.
Colour
Our colour palette came from looking up, designed to reflect the colours of the sky.
A core palette of blues and oranges represent earth’s atmosphere and the sun. Whilst a supporting set of meteorological gradients bring warmth and humanity to the brand.
Motion
We established simple motion principles guided by the take-off and landing movements of the aircraft. Expressions of assent and decent could then be applied holistically across the brand experience from animated typography to nav bar interactions, motion gave everything a little lift.
CGI
Rendered content had to work hard. Competitors were all presenting with future visions of aircrafts that felt too removed, like something out of a sci-fi film. We wanted to shift perception from science fiction to reality. Images needed to feel plausible, obtainable and demonstrate real use cases.
So we took a different perspective. Working with OMI, we created candid compositions shot from a customer POV. We added subtle details too, using brand gradients to colour the sky, passengers limbs cropped into view. Reflections, natural grading, grain and noise all helped to capture true use cases and make the scenes more believable.
Illustration
Illustrations were commissioned to represent some of the more abstract areas of the business such as safety and certification.
We worked with Matt Murphy to craft images that felt iconic. Inspired by art deco and vintage train advertising we wanted imagery that would feel familiar yet timeless and resonate with people, injecting a sense of adventure back into travel.
We selected Matt for his ability to take a complex subject matter and boil it down into intelligent conceptual simplicity, balancing technical precision with heart and humanity.
Illustrations are dynamic compositions pointing the viewers gaze up towards the sky.
Photography
Working with Nic Kane we shot 3 locations over 2 days, including offices, research facilities and test labs. Photography is an important component in the brand tool kit because it allows us to show the humanity behind the craft.
Passion, precision and team work were key tenets on the shoot. Pairing a candid reportage style with warm cinematic orange and blue colour grade to deliver images that capture the hustle and energy of a fledgling manufacturer on the cusp of redefining air travel.
Results
We designed and built a new digital platform to reflect Vertical’s future-focused vision — while introducing the concept of commercial eVTOL flight to a broader audience.
Built from the ground up, the site is a visual feast. A clean, minimal framework puts aircraft technology centre stage, showcasing world-class aeronautical design and engineering.
There’s a quiet confidence to the design, paired with a crisp, purposeful tone of voice that nods to the brand’s British roots.
Motion brings momentum — upward and forward. Scroll-based transitions and subtle interactions guide visitors through the experience, offering a smooth journey and a considered landing.
“The past few years has seen Vertical transform from a fledgling manufacturer to leading the industry, and Fiasco helped us breathe life into the visual identity, experience and platform to revitalise and reach new audiences. We are thrilled with the result. We have an identity and website that finally does the Vertical brand justice.”
Sarah Keegan, Head of Brand Marketing
Sarah Keegan - Head of Brand Marketing, Vertical Aerospace