A close alliance between environmental graphic design and airport architecture may seem unlikely at first, but these fields are remarkably interdependent. This post brings the two together to explore how to stay safe when the world starts traveling again.
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Fast forward to when you&#;re ready to take your next flight. Maybe that&#;s six months from now. Maybe longer. Maybe, depending on your job, family situation, or other circumstances out of your control, your next flight is already on the horizon. When that day comes, what&#;s it going to take to make you feel safe?
Transportation hubs &#; especially airports &#; were anxiety triggers long before we had to deal with a global pandemic. To dispel that unease, designers have successfully deployed signage and wayfinding strategies to guide travelers through unfamiliar environments while communicating across languages and cultures.
The best signage and wayfinding strategies are often unseen, conveying the bare minimum amount of information to get you from point A to point B. If, at the end of the trip, you didn&#;t remember a single thing about the signs that brought you home, that was a good thing.
In the short term, this will change. A more &#;in your face&#; strategy is needed for COVID-19 and the need to distance ourselves from other travelers. The stakes are too high to risk someone missing the message.
Phase 1: Manage the queue
A primary hot button issue now, and for the immediate future, is queuing. We are seeing ad hoc solutions pop up all over the place, with the most popular strategy of putting stickers or tape on the floor at six-foot intervals in queuing areas. These floor graphics could become much more sophisticated and effective.
We&#;re thinking about air travel in particular here, but the strategy is relevant wherever queuing happens. Subway stations, bus stops, clothing retailers, and restaurant chains are likely to implement similar measures.
Airports happen to have a high number of places where pedestrian traffic clogs up. Imagine the journey from curbside drop off to the TSA line to baggage claim &#; graphic cues and explicit signage will be especially important in shaping behavior as travelers move through that journey.
Beyond social distancing, we may want to remind passengers to wash their hands or cough into their elbows with strategically placed signage.
Temporary sticker solutions could also be placed on doors or anywhere we interact with the physical environment. We can do it elegantly and in a manner that grabs your attention, striking a balance that gets at the heart of graphic design&#;s social purpose.
Phase 2: Invest in digital wayfinding
In the long term, there will be a more fundamental change. Over the past 20 years, we&#;ve learned to take trends with a grain of salt. But the move towards digital signage and wayfinding design is much more than a trend. This moment is a tipping point for design. The future will be digital, and it will be flexible.
While analog signage strategies work well in normal times, they leave much to be desired in a crisis. They are too static. Transit hubs must now accept the fact that they might need to change their messages and norms on a dime.
Here&#;s how it can play out:
- Phase one: Solve for queuing. A ceiling-integrated lighting system could delineate points on the floor for travelers to line up. Such a system could integrate biometric sensors. This is far more elegant and eye-catching than pasting down stickers, and digital solutions would have the added benefit of being adaptable to new circumstances.
- Phase two: If social distancing guidelines relax, the lights could simply be turned off, or adjusted to create a new queuing system that doesn&#;t rely on cumbersome stanchions.
- Phase three: To take it further, if we extend our thinking about what could be digital, even gate numbers could change to prevent crowding and overflow in hold rooms. This would give airports flexibility that would have been unimaginable in the past.
We&#;ve been moving towards this flexibility for some time. Years ago, we implemented a signage and wayfinding system for Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. There, the design uses a system of panels that nest seamlessly in each sign &#; using an industrial-strength hook-and-loop material to make them easily changeable. In the near future, the airport could swap in a premade message, symbol, or arrow panel to an existing sign rather than order an entirely new sign. This was an important evolution in our thinking that also happened to be a cost-saving measure. New digital technologies push this flexibility even further.
The potential upside for digital signage and wayfinding is boundless. A digital strategy can bring clarity to the passenger experience, which will have to integrate a series of new behaviors. Top of mind for any traveler getting off a plane or subway will be where to find the nearest hand-washing or sanitizing station, a new first step that will require clear guidance.
The same concern could also impact our new shopping experiences &#; both inside and outside transportation hubs. With grocery stores and other retailers implementing temporarily lowered maximum capacities, digital displays and sensors could let people know how full a store is before they enter, and what their estimated wait time might be.
Technology also opens the door for a new level of emotional resonance. We won&#;t be shaking hands for a while, but personalized messaging that lets us know we are welcome and safe can bring some humanity back to the travel experience.
In such uncertain times, there is solace to be found in consistency. The principles for successful signage and wayfinding projects are largely the same across airports, workplaces, hospitals, universities, and even cities.
We started by asking what it would take for you to feel safe enough to fly again, but in reality, that&#;s a question we&#;ll face for every single activity we resume.
Daily transportation, whether by plane, bus, train, or another vehicle, sees an influx of travelers all day &#; all of whom need instant access to travel schedules and other important details for a safe and successful trip.
Digital signage software is widely used across industries to improve communication and enhance user experiences. Those benefits are what make it an attractive solution for the transportation industry, which relies on the efficient spread of information to run operations smoothly.
Uses of Digital Signage in Transportation Hubs
Digital signage proves to be a valuable addition to any transportation hub. Here are some ways it&#;s used.
Advertising
With its dynamic and eye-catching displays that draw attention, digital screens are hard to ignore. This makes them very powerful platforms for advertising your transport hub&#;s services, amenities, and other relevant products and offers, such as car rentals or travel insurance.
You can also monetize your screens by selling ad space to local businesses. By allowing them to feature their ads for a fee, your digital signage can yield passive income for your transportation hub.
Entertainment
In transportation hubs, most passengers have long hours of downtime waiting to board their flights, trains, or buses. Any source of entertainment will be a welcome distraction. Use your digital signage, especially those situated in waiting areas, to display engaging content.
For example, you can live stream YouTube videos of travel vlogs, broadcast a movie or TV show, or display news and social media feeds.
Menu Boards
If your transportation hub has a cafe or restaurant, you might want to invest in digital menu boards that show the drinks and dishes available at a glance. Especially important in a fast-moving setting like a transit hub, digital signage can help streamline the ordering process and make the queue run faster.
Digital menu boards can also entice customers to dine by showing high-definition mouth-watering images of food that passersby will find hard to resist.
Safety and Security
For the safety of your passengers and staff, it&#;s crucial that you&#;re able to deliver safety and security information quickly so they have enough time to act accordingly.
Digital signage comes with emergency alert features you can use to deploy emergency information in a split second. This becomes especially important in case of fires, earthquakes, or other emergencies that require you to act fast.
Transit Schedules
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From your operating hours to your trip schedules, passengers need to know what time they can board and what time they will arrive. Use digital signage to help them plan their trips and ensure their timely arrival at their destination by displaying the ETA of the next bus or train, arrival and departure times, etc.
You can also use digital signage at your ticketing booths to manage queues, showing passengers the expected wait time to get their tickets.
Travel Updates
Transportation hubs are notorious for delays and schedule changes &#; information that, if not properly disseminated, can be very frustrating to a traveler trying to get to their destination at a specific time.
Digital displays can be used to update passengers on last-minute changes in transit times, schedules, and other important information in real-time, allowing them to plan and adjust their itineraries accordingly.
Wayfinding
With plenty of amenities, managed entrances and exits, and multiple floors, it&#;s easy for a non-frequent traveler to get lost in a transportation hub. Help them find their way around easier with wayfinding digital signage.
Whether in the form of an interactive kiosk at the entrance or directional signage scattered in strategic locations, these will help make navigating your hub easier and improve your passengers&#; experience.
Weather Updates
The weather is a common enemy for all travelers. Give them value in your transportation hub by displaying weather updates and predictions for the day. This also gives you the opportunity to communicate any weather-related disruptions or changes.
Benefits of Digital Signage for Transportation Hubs
Digital signage in a transportation hub has many benefits, depending on how it is used.
Accessibility
Digital signage makes your transportation hubs more accessible for all types of passengers. For example, interactive kiosks give them access to the information they need without written instructions. You can also adjust your content and design to cater to those with cognitive disabilities.
Branding
With digital signage, you retain a high level of control over the content that shows up on the screen. You can use this screen time to display your company branding and improve brand recognition and recall among your passengers.
Decreased Employee Workload
Your employees are spending a lot of time answering questions from travelers or giving them directions to areas in your transportation hub. Digital signage takes this burden off of their shoulders by making information about travel schedules, wayfinding, etc. accessible to your travelers.
Decreased Wait Times
Long queues in your ticketing booth and delayed schedules can significantly impact a traveler&#;s mood and overall experience. Your digital signage can help you decrease perceived wait times by 35% by taking people&#;s attention away from the wait and improving your queue management system.
Enhanced Travel Experience
Wait times, ticketing queues, wayfinding, entertainment, and information access&#; all of these play into a traveler&#;s experience in your transport hub. By streamlining processes and engaging viewers, digital signage can enhance a passenger&#;s experience and make their stay more enjoyable.
Improved Communication
Digital signage makes it fast and easy to communicate with passengers and staff. You no longer need to ping everyone on their mobile devices or broadcast schedule changes on a megaphone. Your software will help you deploy information to your screens in seconds, reaching a wider audience with minimal effort.
Increased Revenue
Digital signage allows you to upsell your transport hub&#;s products and services, from restaurants to monthly travel passes. You can also leverage it to make passive income by selling ad space to local businesses.
Reduced Cost
Digital signage may come with an upfront investment, but it costs significantly less to maintain than traditional communication and advertising. You don&#;t need to print out new posters or flyers every time a new update or change rolls out. You simply go to your digital signage software and deploy new content in real-time.
Sustainability
Traditional signage like posters, flyers, and brochures, is increasing your transportation hub&#;s environmental footprint. Digital signage is a more sustainable solution, eliminating the use of paper and using less energy compared to conventional communications and marketing platforms.
Upscale Your Transport Hub with Digital Signage
If you&#;re looking to improve your transportation hub and yield positive traveler experiences, there&#;s no doubt you need to invest in digital signage solutions. Explore how Rise Vision can help you reap the benefits of digital signage in your transport hub by creating digital signs for free.
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