British Airways

Flight of the future

British Airways collaborated with the Royal College of Art and SE Studio to launch BA 2119: Flight of the Future Exhibition. The exhibition explores visions of the next 100 years of aviation, and originally took place at the Saatchi Gallery in London. SE Studio curated the exhibition, and designed the accompanying signage and print literature. In addition, we created a digital platform that provided additional information about each exhibit, videos, and films for visitors.

Multiple scattered promotional flyers for "Flight of the Future – BA 2119" exhibition at Saatchi Gallery, 1–26 August 2019, presented by British Airways in collaboration with the Royal College of Art.
Interior of gallery exhibition "BA 2119: Flight of the Future" (1–26 August 2019), featuring blue display pedestals with objects, a transparent sphere encasing a mannequin figure, and a visitor walking through the space.
Three printed exhibition leaflets for "BA 2119: Flight of the Future" at Saatchi Gallery, 1–26 August 2019, a British Airways and Royal College of Art collaboration — shown as a small card, a tall folded leaflet, and a large open brochure with circular concept images and exhibition descriptions.
Two small circular chips — one yellow, one gray — held by crocodile clips on a helping-hands stand, viewed through a mounted magnifying glass from above.
Tablet displaying the British Airways "Flight of the Future" exhibition project titled "Aerium: Hydration, Energy Generation and Oxygenation," dated 1–26 August 2019, with illuminated green hexagonal panels and "New Interactions" text visible in the background.
Person in VR headset in a futuristic, illuminated circular room with a yellow skirt and sneakers, interacting with a controller.

The visual identity and exhibition graphics were inspired by the “Fly ‑ Egg” module of the exhibit.

The graphic circular shape represents and becomes the vessel for content while metaphorically representing the vision, view and eye of the future; and the icon and unifying element for the identity.

Museum gallery interior showing a large freestanding oval sculpture made of concentric white rings with blue LED lighting, flanked by light blue display pedestals with exhibit objects; partial text on wall reads "OF FUTURE – 26.08"
A man in a dark polo shirt and jeans examines a spherical sculpture with geometric cutouts revealing blue crystal-like interior, displayed on a light blue pedestal labeled "AER" in a gallery setting.
A modern gallery corridor with glass railings leads to an open doorway revealing a large wall installation of concentric glowing blue rings forming a portal-like ellipse. Wall text identifies the exhibition "Flight of the Future" (BA 2119), 01.08–26.08 2019.
Three people smiling and examining a white 3D-printed architectural model on a lit display table in a design exhibition, holding papers.

We curated the exhibition, and designed the accompanying signage and print literature for visitors. In addition, SE Studio created a digital platform that provided additional information about each exhibit, videos, and films.

This platform engaged visitors by asking for their opinions on the future of flight, enhancing their experience through interactive content available on a tablet. The platform collected data on visitor engagement, including the number of users, duration of interactions, and popular exhibits. This data provided insights into visitor behaviour and interactions with the exhibition.

A visitor views a row of vertical project posters from the BA 2119 "Flight of the Future" exhibition at Saatchi Gallery (1–26 August 2019), featuring student concept designs including Airwear, Aer, Curio, The Future of Luggage, Fly, Aerium, Tastenation, and S-Low Down.
Tastenation exhibition display featuring 3D-printed food specimens on illuminated petri dish platforms, with glass cylinders, syringes, and a dot-pattern world map on a white table surface.
Two men walking through a modern gallery space at the Saatchi Gallery, viewing exhibits including a large dark sculptural model of a plane or aircraft in the foreground and illuminated aviation-related displays on pedestals.

British Airways and the Royal College of Art collaborated on projects where students envisioned the future of flight, based on an in depth research report commissioned by British Airways to mark their centenary.

The RCA students spent three months developing concepts that build on insights from the BA 2119. Concepts from over forty MA, MRes and PhD students engage expertise across Intelligent Mobility, Service Design, Textiles, Fashion, Architecture, Interior Design, Design Products and Innovation Design Engineering.

Tall metallic Saatchi sign against a blue sky with clouds and trees, reflecting sunlight.
Three folded leaflets for the Saatchi Gallery exhibition "The Future of Flight", BA 2119, running 01.08 to 26.08 2019, described as an interactive exhibition exploring the future of flight over 100 years to 2119.
Tall white columns flank a large black door set in a brick wall, with two lanterns and a window above in a neoclassical building facade.