XNA Rebrands With New Logo, Icon

Northwest Arkansas National Airport released new branding images Wednesday in a collaboration with the Northwest Arkansas Council.

The new logo has the airport’s IATA code XNA in lowercase font with a two-color x, replacing the previous “Fly XNA” logo. The airport also released an icon designed by media agency Walrus of New York City. 

The idea to rebrand the airport came from Blake Woolsey, a member of the airport’s board of directors and the head of development for the Heartland Foundation. Woolsey suggested the idea since the Northwest Arkansas Council had released its “Life Works Here” initiative to promote northwest Arkansas to business and employees.

“We know that our airport in many cases can be the very first impression somebody has of northwest Arkansas,” Woolsey said. “We know how important that first impression can be because it can make or break whether somebody wants to return or take a job and move to northwest Arkansas.”

Woolsey said the board felt it was important to rebrand in a way that was “complementary” to the council’s already-in-motion efforts.

Walrus, which did the design for the council’s initiative, did the airport’s rebranding. Alex English, head of public relations at XNA, said the new designs would go live on the airport’s website immediately and would be rolled out at the airport in the coming weeks.

The previous branding had an airplane, while the new designs are a “little more abstract,” said Deacon Webster, Walrus’ chief creative officer.

“We did want to make sure the XNA vibe was unique,” Webster said. “It gives the sense of flight and the taking off and going up into the air.”