How the PDX Brand Came to Life

As the finishing touches were put on the new PDX, welcoming travelers into brighter spaces, shorter paths, and a main terminal that finally feels whole again, we saw an opportunity for our airport brand to grow right alongside it. Not because the PDX brand needed a dramatic makeover (it didn’t), but because this renewed space deserved a brand that captured the real magic people already feel here. We heard again and again: “Don’t change PDX unless you’re making it even more local,” and that became a guiding light. We set out to bottle what makes this place special, ensuring the brand and the building step confidently into this new chapter together – familiar, welcoming, and unmistakably PDX.

How was this work done (and done collaboratively)?
We didn’t want this brand work to feel like something handed down by an outside consultant telling us who we are. Instead, we went straight to the people who make PDX what it is every day – our community of employees and local travelers who know this place well.

We met with employees in different roles across the airport to understand what feels true to the PDX experience. And when we reached out to the public, we started with community members who already have a close connection to the airport – people who sit on advisory committees, volunteers, and others who experience PDX regularly. We even hosted a listening session where we shared early versions of the visual direction and captured their reactions in real time.

We heard loud and clear that a brand isn’t just a logo, it’s the experience people have and how it makes them feel.  That guided us as we shaped key characteristics for the brand. And as we finalized the brand attributes, we checked in often to make sure we stayed true to what we heard.

FUN FACT: PDX is personal to all of us, and we wanted the brand to reflect the welcoming, familiar, and delightful nature that people already love. So our color palette includes colors named “Carpet”, “Llama”, and “Sky”.

How did we make sure it stayed grassroots?
We made sure the brand stayed grounded and authentic by listening closely and letting local voices shape the work. It was rooted in the people who bring PDX’s personality to life every single day – our employees. They’re the ones who feed it, shape it, and make it real. Every warm welcome, every helpful hand, every moment of delight travelers feel here starts with them, and that’s exactly why they guided this process from the start.

What’s the visual DNA of the brand?
The logo doubles down on the iconic PDX carpet – our unofficial welcome mat – and adds a little motion and a subtle wink. The color palette comes straight from the airport and the region itself: the greens of our trees, the warmth of wood, the blues of sky and light. Every element of the system is designed to feel warm, flexible, a little quirky, and proudly rooted in this region (yes, llamas and all).

How does PDX and its new brand connect to the Port of Portland?
PDX is guided by the Port of Portland, and the new brand helps make that connection clearer. The new PDX brand is rooted in the same pillars the Port of Portland embraces: People, Place, and Purpose. It’s a shared foundation that shows how our values come to life in the airport experience. By putting people first, reflecting the region we serve, and getting a little better every day, the brand makes the Port’s role more visible in the day‑to‑day moments travelers feel at PDX.

Ultimately, the brand helps us show up more clearly for travelers, partners, and businesses, while telling the story of what makes PDX, and the Port of Portland, so integral to our region.

Where will it show up?
You’ll start to see the new PDX brand come to life this spring and summer, as we continue to put the finishing touches on the new terminal. We’re rolling it out in a natural, "you‑might‑not‑even‑notice‑because‑it‑just‑feels‑right" kind of way.

The brand will continue to appear across the terminal in physical spaces, from elevator signs to wayfinding, concessions signage, and those big, welcoming community murals in the main lobby.

You’ll also see it in the places our digital communities gather, like the redesigned FlyPDX.com, social content, and PDX People newsletters. And over time, the brand will keep building, growing into more spaces as updates and priorities allow.