Barf Bags to Boarding Passes, EVA Air and Sanrio Brand the Heck Out of Hello Kitty Air.

If United Airlines turned the skies "friendly", then EVA Air has now made them "cute." Taiwan's second-largest carrier, EVA Air, and Japan's Sanrio, have collaborated for the second time to bring us Hello Kitty branded air travel. The two companies launched the first generation of Hello Kitty jets in 2005, but that fleet was disbanded in 2009, after its licensing agreement expired.



Then last year, they launched the first of the new fleet, the Hello Kitty 'Magic Stars' Airbus. Soon after, two more brand-new A330-300 aircrafts, The Hello Kitty 'Loves Apples' and the Hello Kitty 'Around The World' jets joined the Magic Stars Jet. Each has 30 Premium Laurel seats and 279 economy seats, an increase of 57 seats over the airline’s A330-200 jets. Magic Stars Jet flies to Sapporo and Guam, Apple Jet flies to Seoul and Fukuoka with the Global Jet serving Hong Kong and Tokyo.



White with the exception of green tails and the EVA logo, the aircraft are giant airborne canvases for Hello Kitty and her friends.

Hello Kitty Magic Stars Jet:


Hello Kitty Around The World Jet:


Hello Kitty Loves Apples Jet:



The cute exterior graphics on the jets are only a small part of the enormous branding project. From the actual boarding gate in Taiwan's airport to the ticket kiosks, everything related to the experience is branded with the cute mouthless cartoon kitty.


above: Even the gate at the airport is entirely Hello Kitty-ed out.


above: new Hello Kitty Kiosks for Eva Air tickets and boarding passes

Flight attendants, headrests, in flight programming and pillows all have the popular Sanrio character upon them in some manner:








All the meals, regardless of class or jet, are branded with Hello Kitty:





On board the plane over 100 in-flight items are specially designed with the Hello Kitty motif - including headrest covers, tissues, paper cups, utensils, milk bottles, snacks, soap dispensers, hand lotion, meals, ice cream, flight attendant aprons... even the barf bags.


above: Attendant aprons, ice cream, snacks and branded barf bags


above: The soaps and lotions on the flights are branded Hello Kitty


above: Hello Kitty branded menus, food trays, chopstix and utensils


above: Hello Kitty branded luggage tags, tickets and boarding passes

Passengers can also purchase limited edition duty-free products, such as Hello Kitty-shaped pasta, miniature plane models, and the flight attendant Hello Kitty aprons.


above: Sanrio duty free store in Madrid airport.


above: Models of EVA Air's Hello Kitty Fleet are available for purchase in their online store

Fans can check Hello Kitty Jet flight schedules, details of the latest travel packages and more on the dedicated website (in Chinese, Korean and Japanese only).



They can also download Hello Kitty Jet wallpaper and keep up-to-date on availability of Hello Kitty duty-free items. As a special bonus, the website features The Story of Logojets video about the origin of EVA’s popular Hello Kitty Jets.

EVA Air Hello Kitty

images and info courtesy of EVA air, limcorp and CNNgo

And The Oscar Goes To... Nine Awesome (and Official) Academy Award Evites!

Planning on throwing an Oscar Party? Got you miniature statuettes? Your ballots? Your deli platter and your booze? What about the invites?





I always designed my own in the past, but with this wonderful new and well-designed online collection, I don't have to. And neither do you. Ranging from Pop Art to the Golden Age of Hollywood, these nine new invitations and matching envelopes were designed for Evite's new premium site by the actual designer of the Academy Award winners' envelopes.





Marc Friedland, the designer of the Academy Award winners’ envelope has designed the first-ever collection of Academy sanctioned invitations for Oscar Sunday viewing parties, which is now immediately available to download exclusively on Evite's new premium site, Postmark.





The nine unique premium Oscar party invitation designs are being made available online complimentary for party hosts to personalize and have digitally delivered as a way for Friedland and Evite to announce their association and preview Evite’s new premium site Evite Postmark











The Oscar Collection by Marc Friedland has something for everyone, from classic golden age of Hollywood to modern, fun takes on Oscar as well. There’s the nod to glitz and glam (complete with “Swarovski studded Oscar,” shown below) to mid-60’s inspired chic. Each design begins as an individually hand-crafted original, and then is magically transformed to be digitally delivered on Evite Postmark, making this the online debut of Friedland’s high-end signature craftsmanship work.




Each invitation in the collection has a matching designed envelope, custom stamp, and features the never before available Oscar statuette, use of Academy archival photos and images, and the use the of the “official” Academy Awards title.






“Partnering with Marc and The Academy to launch Evite Postmark in time for the biggest celebration in Hollywood not only perfectly captures Evite Postmark’s spirit, but it presents a huge opportunity to capture the imaginations of customers looking for new and fun ways to bring the Academy Awards into their own homes,” said Mr. Woolley.

Last year Friedland introduced the first-ever envelopes and announcement cards bearing the names of the winners for the telecast. It was the first time the Academy had a specially-designed envelope and card to announce the Oscar recipients. Friedland will be recreating them again for this year and next for the 85th annual broadcast. He will also be writing a blog titled “Oscar Party Confidential” offering party tips (complete with free downloadable Oscar Bingo cards for everyone to play at home) and suggestions for www.Postmark.com as well as. www.Oscar.com



“In 2011 when I designed the first Academy Award winners' envelope, I wanted to create a modern icon imbued with a rich air of luxury, reminiscent of the glamorous golden age of Hollywood,” said Friedland. “And while it was only touched by a handful of winners—yet seen by millions—I wanted to see how I could make this piece of Oscar history part of the tradition of Oscar Party Sunday. With the support of both the Academy and Evite Postmark, this collection was designed to inspire those who love to celebrate the Oscars by way of a really fun, personal experience.”

Evite Postmark and Friedland are planning to roll out the full line of invitation and correspondence categories later this spring after more than a year in development. Evite Postmark is a premium online service featuring stylish invitations and correspondence for life’s special occasions. Reminiscent of traditional fine stationery, Evite Postmark offers its users a wide range of high-quality custom and personalized designs on a user-friendly, advertising-free interface, providing them with a modern way to stay in touch without sacrificing taste or etiquette.

Direct links to Evite Postmark will also be available at www.Oscar.com and www.marcfriedlandinc.com

Friedland is a Los Angeles-based custom invitation designer creating stationery arts for high-end clients. This year marks the 25th anniversary of his namesake business along with Creative Intelligence, his experiential branding agency counterpart.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network beginning at 4 p.m. PT/ 7 p.m. ET. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.