Pay close attention to the airports the next time you fly. They could have a more deliberate design than you realize.
The development of flying as a sophisticated method of transporting people around the globe has lasted for over a century.
The first link in that network is the airport, which receives passengers off the street and from aircraft and efficiently directs them to their destinations.
Airports have changed throughout time from basic transit hubs for a small number of people to busy shopping destinations for millions.
They are being made with the intention of influencing and completing human behavior. Everything in the gift stores, including the items for sale and the lighting and architecture, is strategically placed.
Here are a few strategies airports employ to help passengers unwind, arrive at their gates promptly and securely, and ideally spend some money in the process.
1. They Make Sure You Can See the Tarmac
A successful airport must have simple navigation. With the use of subtle design signals pointing travelers in the right way, travelers should be able to navigate from security to their gate without getting lost.
In the world of design, this procedure is known as wayfinding. Although signs are obviously necessary, it is better for designers to explore for more subdued solutions to aid with navigating.
For instance, in many modern airports, visitors may look through to the tarmac as soon as they pass through security, if not before.
A view right out to airside, where you can see the tails of every aircraft, is more significant than anything else. Is it important that it’s your aircraft? Most likely not. It provides you with guidance so you can typically understand that’s the way you should move.
2. The Signs Send Subliminal Messages
The design of an airport sign contains relatively little random design.
Consider the typeface, for instance. Helvetica, Frutiger, and Clearview are the three fonts you’ll find at 75% of airports. For better reading from a distance, all three are sans serif.
Unofficially, every inch of letter height increases the sight distance by 40 feet (so a 3 inch tall letter would be legible from 120 feet).
Different terminals may have their own unique signature sign designs, such as rounded corners or a certain hue.
You may be reacting to a subconscious cue, such as the change in shape from one sign system to another, if you ever find yourself in a confusing environment, such as an airport, campus, hospital, or other complex setting, and you suddenly feel off or like you are heading in the wrong direction. This is likely not due to magic or a brilliant internal directional sense.
3. They Lighten the Mood
Even in stores, more recent airports use as many windows as they can.
The stores frequently have their backs to the parking lot. Travelers frequently enter stores that have direct sunlight access on foot. Passengers avoid areas that are blocked off with artificial light because they perceive them to be overly gloomy.
4. They Herd You With Art
The large sculpture in your terminal has a purpose beyond aesthetics. It serves as another another navigational aid for travelers. They employ items like artwork as a form of placemaker to establish landmarks around an airport terminal.
For instance, the pre-security shop area at Vancouver International Airport is centered on a stunning 16-foot high sculpture.
“Meet you at the sculpture,” is a common phrase. It serves as a reference point.
A distinct ambience where people desire to spend time (and money!) is created through art, converting the airport from a sterile people-mover. According to a poll, 56% of respondents stated they would want to see more “culturally sensitive and genuine experiences related to the area” in airports by 2025.
5. They Use Carpeting
The distance between check-in and the gate in many airports is paved with linoleum (or some other hard surface). However, you’ll see that the waiting room at the gate is carpeted.
This makes holding rooms seem warm and inviting, similar to your own living room, in an effort to make them more soothing. Travelers who are content and at ease often spend 7% more on retail purchases and 10% more on Duty Free goods.
And it goes beyond than just a carpeted layer. As airports search for new strategies to calm tourists and promote spending, yoga rooms, spas, and even airport therapy dogs are becoming increasingly widespread.
6. The ‘Golden Hour’ is Key for Profit
The period of time between when a passenger passes through security and when they board their plane is referred to as “dwell time” by airport managers. According to The Telegraph, “passengers are at a loose end and most likely to spend” at this time.
The “golden hour,” the first 60 minutes spent outside of security, is especially important since this is the time when passengers are “in a self-indulgent attitude.” In addition to providing you with flight information, display boards are also there to comfort you that you still have plenty of time to explore and buy.
Similar to this, several airports have time-to-gate signs up that show how far you are from your destination. Self-service kiosks are also becoming increasingly prevalent at airport terminals since 40% of us would like to avoid interacting with other people while we purchase.
7. They’re Increasing Dwell Time
The so-called “golden hour” is excellent, but two golden hours are superior. An additional hour at the airport costs the average traveler about $7.
Everything that is automated, from luggage drop through check-in, is done thus to expedite the process. It also works. According to research, automated check-in kiosks are 25% quicker than people. These days, many airports, notably those in Japan and New Zealand, operate without providing any personnel help beginning with check-in.
You create your own luggage tag and attach it to the bag before boarding the aircraft. You pass through the empty auto-security and immigration lines. You only need to touch your barcode at the boarding gate for a gate to open and let you go directly onboard the plane.
8. Shops are Strategically Placed
The idea is getting the items out where they may be seen by as many people as possible because most airport shopping is impulsive (no one actually needs a huge carton of Toblerone).
Shops are situated near airports with heavy pedestrian traffic. In certain airports, getting to the gates requires passing through Duty Free. Additionally, the more turns and twists, the better.
People prefer to shop in busy areas, therefore stores and restaurants are frequently grouped together to create the sense of a Main Street. It’s the same as if you were in Manhattan or a place in Europe. When retail reaches a critical mass, it succeeds.
9. They Go Local
Because tourists want to purchase trinkets and souvenirs that represent the local culture, airport stores are brimming with them. For instance, “Sleepless in Seattle” shirts continue to be one of the best-selling items at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport more than 20 years after the film’s premiere.
Cactus plants in pots are quite popular among shoppers at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Local products and services support the notion that you are in a unique location when traveling to the rest of the globe.
10. Walkways Curve to the Left
According to Intervistas, right-handedness has an impact on airport design. The majority of people are right-handed.
Passengers will glance right while traveling left (perhaps subconsciously), therefore if a pathway arcs from right to left with more goods and space on the right side, more sales will result.
11. A Single Queue Puts Us at Ease
Although the lines for security and check-in may appear impossibly lengthy, a single line actually reduces stress by making people feel more fair. Since there is no other line, nobody is concerned that it is moving more quickly than theirs.
Because everyone is standing in the same line, using a one-queue system for security or check-in, where there is one long line and you proceed directly to the next available counter, is perceived as more equitable by passengers. It’s odd, but true, that you consistently believe the line behind you moves more quickly.
12. The Security Officers Get Conversational
Since 2007, the TSA has invested $200 million annually in personnel who are trained to identify suspect passenger behavior. Paul Ekman, a psychology professor at the University of California Medical School in San Francisco, created the program, which is known as Screening of Passengers by Observation Techniques (SPOT).
It includes a list of 94 symptoms, such as sweating or avoiding eye contact, that indicate worry and terror. However, according to a research, SPOT is useless since “human capacity to effectively identify dishonest conduct based on behavioral cues is the same as or slightly better than chance.”
Passengers can also be screened by just conversing with them. It is 20 times more successful to simply ask open-ended questions, or use the Controlled Cognitive Engagement (CCE) approach, than to try to observe behavior.
An agent may, for instance, ask a passenger where they are going before poking them with a random inquiry, such as where they attended college and what their major was, and then look out for panicky behaviors.
If you’re a frequent traveler, your conversation is simply about what you know best: yourself. It shouldn’t feel like you’re being questioned. According to the research, cops who employed conversation-based screening caught 66% more dishonest passengers than those who used behavior-based screening, which captured only 3% more.