Rock-it Cargo:
history of our logo
Over the years, numerous people
have commented on the design of our logo. Without exception they
loved the playful, yet strong & efficient image. So ….,
if you are one of those wondering how we arrived at our logo design,
here's the background to our choice of a unique plane for the
main image.
Most people believe the aircraft to be a Catalina. It is in fact,
a Saro Cloud. Saro is short for Saunders Roe. For the logo to
work effectively, we had to “tweak” it to make it
fit the right format. Using artistic discretion, some technical
details have been overlooked. For example, the aircraft is actually
corrugated which was particularly difficult to capture effectively
and quite frankly never looked right in small print. Therefore
our Saro Cloud is even more unique because we’ve ironed
out its creases.
The Saro Cloud was a twin-engined flying boat, fitted with retractable
wheels, with a cruising speed of 112 mph approximately. It was
particularly useful in areas of the world where airfields were
scarce. First flown in 1931 it was something of a novelty whilst
in Royal Air Force (RAF) service. It was an amphibian used for
the instruction of flying-boat pilots and also a "flying
classroom" for the training of navigators.
It couldn't have been better suited for its purpose, with a spacious
cabin offering plenty of room for chart tables and an uninterrupted
view of the ground afforded by its high-wing layout. The comfort
of the crew was a great feature of the Cloud. It differed from
most other contemporary maritime aircraft of the period in having
a totally enclosed cockpit for the two pilots.
The similarities and relevance of the Saro Cloud to Rock-it are
“plane to sea” (sic.). Both teach their crews to navigate
the globe and both are happy in the Air, on the Sea or on Land.
The Logo’s imagery and history are synonymous with Rock-it.
We deliberately chose to use old style images for our logo even
though we are continually moving forward and pushing the boundaries
into the future. It’s a gentle reminder that we must endeavour
to remain true to old style values, when customer service was
equally as important as money.
