Awesome! Thank you very much. Looks like you spend a lot of time for this.

Hi Sebastian - Thank you for your comment, appreciated. I enjoyed creating this post very much, to gather & compile this inspiration source as reference work for airport signage was just fun to do.

Nice post Sander, great subject as always.

I noticed how most of the signage is Bright on Black, Schiphol is one of the few exceptions. Funny how that works, most printing and web is the otherway around. I love the edgy look of the Singapore signage.

Can’t for the tutorial!

A great collection. Looking forward to that article on signage and the grid.

very cool collection. looking forward to the article.
as i travel quite often, signage is of interest to me.
no one wants to be the lost traveler. :)

Wow, a very detailed post. Looks like you spent ages on this, kudos. I know where to come back to if I ever need to do signage work.

Hi Vincent - Thank you for your comment, appreciated. Most of the airport signage designers indeed has a black background with white lettering. In a visual crowed environment this will attract the visitors attention more than the other way around. At schiphol Mijksenaar used yellow with black lettering for primarily routing, for secondarily routing they used a blue/white and a black/white lettering. The signs combined will achieve a high profile guidance throughout the airport.

Hi Johno - Thank you for stopping by! I’ll let you know when the article about signage design is up and running. Good luck with iLT.

Hi cyhung - Welcome here at DWP, thank you for your comment. I love to hear from you which color combination you think works the best for Airport Signage. Thank you in advance.

Hi Jacob Cass - Thanks very much for your comment, appreciated. Good luck with JCD.

What really struck me as odd is that despite all differences, sometimes subtle, sometimes not, the arrows are basically all the same design. A square corner on a stick. Funny!

I’d be interested to hear anyone’s experiences with the signage at Toronto’s new Terminal 1. Personally, I find it the most confusing I’ve experienced. There seems to be no uniformity about the meaning of the various arrows, and this, combined with somewhat odd sign placement has had me wandering as if a lost foreigner (I’m not) more than once. This is a brand new and expensive facility, and I really wonder how they could have gotten this one so wrong.

Vancouver (YVR) airport, by contrast is one of the best — in signage and practically everything else. One has only to arrive here after a long international flight to experience the thought that went into passenger comfort. A light and airy rainforest awaits between your gate and customs.. a real de-stresser.

@7:
Now you mention it, the bright on black makes sense, attracts more in a crowded environment.

Btw, your links to Mijksenaar and Signweb contain a “br”. Error!

I’m not a sign designer, but I find the sign from Schiphol (Amsterdam) somewhat bad. It just looks to cluttered, especially compared to the other examples. On the other hand, I’ve used them, and I never got lost there.

The Portland photo also confuses me. Are Ticketing and Baggage Claim also straight, like All Gates? Or are they right here on this spot? Or maybe even to the right? I assume they are in the same direction as All Gates, but in that case they should be grouped. (E.g. by a line separator, or by more blank space between them and the item to the right.)

But all in all a nice overview.

One last remark, if you’re designing signage and want a to use a different font, maybe consider Router from Jeremy Mickel (via Village, http://www.vllg.com/Incubator/Router/mudTyper+Weights/) I have never seen it in real life I think, but it surely looks nice in the specimen. (Only the bold looks a bit too playful to my taste.) I wish I was a sign designer, just to have an excuse to buy it. Moreover, I think Kris Sowersby’s National (also via Village, http://www.vllg.com/KLIM/National/mudTyper+Weights/) would also look great for signage.

But again, I’m no sign designer, so take these recommendations with caution.

Congratulations !!! send me newsletters

From Mexico

Great post Sander! I snapped some pics a few months ago in Copenhagen too. My personal favourite is, still, CDG. Perfect in it’s simplicity and I’m loving the colourscheme.

Hi Rob Hofker - Thank you for your comment, indeed many of the arrows look alike. I’ve released a package of 56 different arrow to use in designs, see here for more information.

Many of the signage symbols have been taken from the Aiga Symbol Signs (where you can find the arrow as specified in the designs).

Hi Marshall - Thanks very much for your comment, appreciated. I found a image for the Toronto Terminal 1 signage, I can’t really tell how the wayifinding is at the airport, so can’t give you an answer at this time. Maby with some more images we could evaluate the signage system.

Toronto Terminal 1

Vancouver (YVR) airport

Thanks Vincent - for your comment, this color combination works only when a lot of daylight can enter the building. For instance in Schiphol there is not much daylight, a lighter color background will attract more (Yellow & Black). So the color combination depends on the environment. Thank you for sending the email!

He Sander Spek - Thanks very much for your comment! Long time no see, hope everything is fine. I believe Schiphol works good because of its design and its quantity, at almost every 50 metres is a big sign with primairly information. I believe the color combination at Schiphol works better than a dark background with white lettering, because of the low ceiling and the limited amount of daylight available in the building. Good remark about the Portland signage, thanks for the mention of the fonts, I will definitely take a look at them.

Hi el norberto - I don’t send out newsletters, but you could subscribe to the free RSS Feed.

Thanks Erik - Thanks for your comment and the support at Fontanel!

Yes, everything is fine. I’m happy to see that you are blogging again too!

You must be right about the Schiphol signage, it never bothered me in real life, and also after clicking on the links you provided I like it better. I think I just dislike the sign you picked for your photo example. :)

LOL, thanks for the critic on the Schiphol photo
I found a better photo of Schiphol Airport Signage:

Thanks again!

The most interesting part for me was the moon instead of a cross for First Aid in the Ataturk Airport. I remember reading about the Red Cross/Red Crescent on Logo Design Love a while back. Maybe for convention’s sake, though, they should have the cross, too?

Hehe, in terms of funny signage, I find restroom signs can be odd or interesting sometimes. In the Honolulu airport in Hawaii, they have Hawaiian print clothes and leis around their necks! Men’s, Women’s. Adds character, doesn’t it? Fun!

Hi LaurenMarie - Thanks for the detailed mention of the Red Cross issue. Ataturk Airport is in Istanbul a Muslim country where the use of the Red Cross is a Red Crescent. At the website of IFR the logo also has two symbols see also here. I don’t believe they will change this.

I simply love the toilet signage in Honolulu (it sends out a holiday spirit!) and manufactured using ADA compliant signage rules. Thanks again for the mention, good luck with creativecurio.

Beautiful pictures!

hey, the ‘Hong Kong Airport Signage’ is wrong, the language is in Malay, only found in Malaysia and Indonesia, I think the airport is non other than Malaysia’s KLCC airport.

I was in Denver and was surprised that some of the ugliest, most unusual signage I had ever seen was the most useful!

The wayfinding arrows actually bend around the signs (yes, they are 3D) making them absolutely unambiguous (and hideous).

Here’s a pic on my blog:

Hi Calvin - Thank you for the correction, Malay isn’t my strongest language

Hi Chris Blow - Thank you for adding the image to the post. The arrows indeed seems a bit odd and hardly a good giving direction. Also the chosen type face looks like Helvetica, which is not really the most readable type from a distance, as you can see the letter “C” will look like “O” from a fair distance and the letterspacing have to be increased because wil “AIM” you will not see the “I” because it’s too close to the “M”. Do you have some more images? Thanks again for sending this example.

Thank you for the post. Just wondering who designed Beijing Capital airport terminal 3 signage? I couldn’t find it. And love to have people’s opinion of the deign as well. Personally, I don’t really like it… it’s a bit boring and colour doesn’t match the architecture either.

I’d like to make a correction to Chris Blow’s response above. The baggage claim sign with the curved arrows is actually located in LAX Terminal 7. I know this because I work for a wayfinding consultancy firm that is currently replacing these signs with an updated system. Be on the look out :)

Hi Lu Rui - Thank you for your comment. The architect is Foster + Partners, one of the largest archicture companies in the world. Here is a direct link to the project. Pff. you can spend hours at that website, they have designed so much beatiful buildings. I’m almost sure they also managed the signage & wayfinding system. But Beijing is not listed in this article.

I think you mean Singapore Changi International Airport, Terminal 3, which is designed by architect Woodhead. Also a superb company. I believe the black signage works well in the visual crowed environment. Thanks again for your comment.

Hi Jesse Smarty - Thanks very much for your update on the airport signage for Denver. Is it possible to send us a photo of the new installed signage. I love to see the design. Thank you in advance.

Thanks for the correction Jesse, you are right that I took the picture in LA. It must’ve been a long flight!

I should also clarify that, in person, the LAX 3D arrows are superbly useful. I think the person who designed them should get a gold star.

Nothing like standing underneath a sign at a 4-hallway intersection, looking up, and seeing the arrows pointing straight down at you.

I wish there were 3d arrows in every airport.

i just came back from travelling and i was also thinking about the importance of design to locate yourself.

mainly with the icons… it’s an amazing subject. great post!

Hi, great research indeed!
i think that pictogram (i mean icons) can come up as the most strong signage tool if they are made consistent all over.

i wonder in a short period of time, with hundreds of icons per directions (like http://www.designworkplan.com/uploads/arrow-symbols-icons.png) we will land up a debate as which one is the best.

do we really need so many variations?

Thanks Chris Blow - for explaining.

Thanks weno - for your comment, aprreciated!

Hi Arijit - thanks for your comment. I agree with you that symbols & icons are cross language, therefore one of the most powerful ways to display information. Regarding the arrows, I believe that with so many fonts available as many (hopefully less) arrows will be used to combine with that particular typeface. Thanks again for your comment, looking forward to a debate about arrow design.

Zurich. FTW.

i personally find that yellow & black is one of the better combinations. blue is inherently a passive color. so i tend to see them used for secondary signage. many US airports use black bgd and white texts. i came to expect that now.

agree on use of symbols ONLY if they are already commonly used. some variations aren’t a problem for me. but i do have some trouble with signs that are reduced to just symbols and arrows.

Thanks James - for your input, appreciated. I aree with you that Zurcich is a great designed airport signage. Both in color, choose of type and symbols and overall signage design that works well together.

Hi cyhung - Thanks for your comment, appreciated. Agreed that signage designs only with symbols and arrows can work confusing. I believe symbols & icons have a be strenghten with native and English text.
About the color I agree with you that black signage with white lettering works good in a visual crowed environment.

Hi Sander,
My name is Federica.I’m contacting you because I need some important information that can help me for my thesis.
I’m examining some projects of communication / system of wayfinding and pictograms/icons of parks, and signage system in general.

Do you Know some examples that can help me? Federica

Hi Federica - Thank you for your interest. I will be glad to help you in any way I can. I will send you a email. Thanks again.

Hi Sander!

Great article. Just wanted you to know that I talked about in on my print design blog, here: http://www.hotcards.com/blog/2/284.html

Hi Anne Stewart - Thanks very much for the mention in your article! Very appreciated and good readings.

Great posting!
Your post is perfectly aligned with the type of research we are doing on interfaces and interaction design, so one of our writers added a link to your post on our blog (http://alsoplantsfly.com).
I hope I’ll see more of this kind of postings: it was refreshing! Thanks again

Hi Andrea Bianchi - Thanks very much for putting up the article at your blog. Much appreciated.

thank you cris

Hello.

I just want to say that you made a typo mistake there.
Malaysia’s KLCC airport. it should be Malaysia’s KLIA airport.

By the way, Nice collection!

Hi AJ - Heads up for the typo, I corrected it in the article. Thanks for your comment!

Hi,

I’m doing a project on wayfinding of the vancouver airport. By any chance do you know who designed the way finding system?

Hi Terry - I’ve searched Google for the YVR wayfinding design and signage system and have come up with the following resources.

Wayfinding design by Bart Sciana, see this link for more information.
Signage software system by Omnivex, see this link for more information.

Hope this information will be of any help to you.

Thank You, Sander!

Varied but slightly color transitioned signs in airports are ideal so people can determine which way will they go and will not miss the flight. thanks for the post!

hi Mr. Baumann,
I just stumbled on this site - and am glad i did.it’s so refreshing going through your piece on airport signage. i am a graduate student of graphic design working on developing pictograms for wayfinding signage in Nigerian hospitals. I am a typical ‘typophile’ with a strong ‘helvetica’indoctrination. my lecturer told me years ago; “if everything else won’t work, use helvetica”! (good as it looks, i think the helvetica is overused!)My exposure to type is limmited to textbook knowledge but i know enough about using a sans type for my project! i have fallen in love with ‘calibri’(bold), which is
close in semblance to the first picture in your article. I am tempted to say so much…i look forward to more write-ups on signage, i’ll glean quite a lot. Thank you

Welcome kange kahnge raymond - thanks for your comment, appreciated! If you want to share your project for signs in a Nigerian Hospital I am more than happy to combine them in a post here at DWP. If you are interested please send contact me. What typefaces are you using for your hospital signage project?

About using Helvetica is said alot, personally I find Helvetica not suitable for signage anymore, there are many signage typeface available. I always say if everything else won’t work use Akidenz Grotesk, a typeface that has a Helvetica look & feel but is totally different. Try it and you will see the difference. Thanks again.

Hi Mr Sander,i just got a challenge that “it is better 2give than 2recieve.”I had always come 2search the web whenever I need any information,but now,I just made-up my mind to join the crew of information givers.Anyway,I am a student of ARCHITECTURE,OOU,Ibogun campus,Ogun State and my thesis is going 2b on airport design therefore,sincere appreciate all that made possible,all the information in this page.Thanx

As a student trying to enter Graphic Design for college, I am writing an essay on Airport Signage. This was VERY helpful! Thank you so much and GREAT article!

The main reason that white letters on dark backgrounds read well is the white tends to glow slightly to the eye outside of the actual shape of the letter.
This makes the letter appear slightly larger that they actually are.

The converse is also true of a white background with a dark letter.
The white slightly encroaches onto the black, making the letter appear slightly smaller than they are.

excellent! Currently researching airport wayfinding for work, this really helped!

Excellent article, very well put and research.

I’m from Jakarta, and at a glance, the signage design of Schiphol reminds me of Jakarta’s Airport, Soekarno-Hatta (CGK). It shared the yellow bright as background and black typefaces / symbols. Unfortunately the similarity ends there, as the design in CGK is not that good, even on the new Terminal 3.

Please see it for yourself at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soekarno-Hatta_International_Airport
http://www.jakartaairportonline.com/photo-gallery Cheers!

I am looking for recommendations for high-quality airport signage fabricators in the U.S.(California, if possible).

request for desing proposal for complete airport signage