This booklet is part of a graphic design project. It explains the meaning of new symbols, which will be displayed throughout airport terminals. Passengers will get a chance to notice these symbols as soon as they arrive at the airport. They will help guide the passengers to their destination.
HELLO AND WELCOME TO AUCKLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
Table of Contents Departures 5 • Arrivals 5 • Men Toilets 5 • Women Toilets 6 • Elevators 6 • Information Centre 6 • Restaurant 7 • Passport Control 7 • Baggage 7 • Drinking Fountain 8 • Car Park 8 • No Parking 8 • Smoking 8 • No Smoking 8 • Baggage Lockers 11 • Bus 11 • Taxi 11 • First Aid 12 • Currency Exchange 12 • Phone 12 • Lost & Found 13 • Escalator Up & Down 13 • Exit 13 • Customs Service 14 • Duty Free 14 • No Entry 14 • Lounge 17 • Internet 17 • Transfer Passengers 17 • Police 18 • Arrow 18 • Children’s Play Area 18
Auckland International Airport Auckland Airport is the major connection between the world and “the land of the long white cloud”. It is where New Zealand touches the world - welcoming visitors and farewelling friends. Auckland International Airport Limited (Auckland Airport) was formed in 1988, when the New Zealand Government corporatised the management of Auckland International Airport. In 1998, the Government sold down its shareholding, and Auckland Airport became the fifth airport company in the world to be publicly listed. Today, Auckland Airport has been voted as one of the 10 best airports in the world two years in a row, and is a major driver of the economy. Auckland Airport generates billions of dollars for the economy, creating thousands of jobs, and making a vital contribution to New Zealand trade and tourism by strengthening connections with the world.
“the land of the long white cloud”
Over 70 per cent of visitors enter or leave New Zealand via Auckland Airport, which handles over 13 million passengers a year. More than 20 international airlines serve Auckland Airport, Australasia’s second busiest international airport, after Sydney. As New Zealand’s major transport hub, Auckland Airport is investing in an airport and traveller experience that all New Zealanders can be proud of. Auckland Airport is continually developing the capacity and services to ensure it will sustainably cope with an anticipated 24 million passengers a year by 2025, reflecting New Zealand’s growing popularity as one of the world’s leading tourism destinations.
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The gateway to the land of the long white cloud
DEPARTURES A ‘Departures’ sign indicates an area at the airport where passengers proceed in order to board an aircraft. There are a lot of activities that all passengers can do inside the departure terminal. A ‘Departures’ sign is one of the most popular signs that the passengers can see. It is an important sign for the passengers who have not been to the airport before. After the passengers
arrive at the airport, they need to check in at an airline check-in counter to have their documents and baggage checked. Then they need to get through the immigration for a passport and a visa check. After that, they can follow the ‘Departures’ sign to the Departure Lounge, a departure area where passengers can wait before boarding the flights.
ARRIVALS An ‘Arrivals’ sign indicates an area at the airport where passengers proceed after they get off an aircraft Passengers need to follow the sign to pass through the immigration and then collect their baggage at the baggage area. After that, they have to
pass through the customs for their baggage check (if required). Then they can proceed to the meeting area. This sign is also one of the most important signs for people who want to pick up someone at the meeting area at the arrival terminal.
Toilets are ones of the most important facilities available at the airport. Both men’s toilets and women’s toilet can be found at any corner around the airport.
figure must be bigger and wears something different from the female one.
MEN TOILETS
The sign for men’s toilets must have the symbol that is noticeably different from the one for women’s toilets so that people will not misinterpret. The male
Since Auckland International Airport is the place where a lot of people visit every day, the symbol should look polite or formal. For this reason, I then try to make the symbol that shows the male figure wearing a suit with a blue tie.
WOMEN TOILETS The women’s toilets are as important as the men toilets. The difference is that the symbol of the women’s toilet has the female figure which is curvier than the male figure. This symbol needs to be made nice and matched with the female figure.
Women want to look good at all time and this room serve that purpose well; it is the place where they can check their appearance and maintain their beauty. Thus, the symbol focuses on the beauty of women by wearing the dress in blue. It has a “V” shape which is half of the “W” alphabet as well.
An elevator (or a lift in British English) is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or baggage between floors of a building.
people to go up and down inside the building, especially for a high building.
ELEVATORS
Lift or elevators is convenient for
The symbol of an elevator is a rectangle shape with a vertical line in the middle which illustrates the doors of the elevator.
INFORMATION CENTRE Information centre is the place where people can ask for any information about the airport or can consult when they have any problems. This place can give most answers and information the passengers need. There are many information counters around the airport. Since people have a lot of different questions to ask for help, the symbol needs
to be seen easily. The colour is one of the key points to make this symbol stand out more. It must be ensured that people can notice the symbol clearly and easily from a distance. Therefore, the question mark is the standard symbol for questioning and getting for help.
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RESTAURANT A restaurant is the place where the passengers try to find something to eat before boarding an aircraft or after arrival. There are many different kinds of food around the airport, for example, Mac Donald, KFC, Sushi or Pasta. The symbol used for a restaurant should have a common sense of
food availability. Using a knife, a fork and a disk symbol makes the passengers understand more about the place. It also explains the culture of New Zealand; people can learn that New Zealanders use knife and fork to consume food.
PASSPORT CONTROL The passport control symbol is for the immigration procedure. It displays before the passengers enter the Departure Lounge or the departure area before the flight boarding. The passengers can see the symbol again when they get off the aircraft and walk through the duty free area before they collect their
baggage. The symbol displays the passport book symbol which is a good idea to show that the immigration is needed to proceed for their passport and visa check. Additionally, once seeing the sign, the passengers can get themselves prepared to show their passport which can hasten the immigration process.
Baggage is bags, cases, etc. or things that people have when they are travelling. Most passengers have at least one piece of baggage to keep things they need.
indicates the baggage area where they can collect their baggage. Nowadays, the baggage has a lot of different designs and sizes.
BAGGAGE
Normally, the passengers can see this symbol after they pass through the immigration. It
This symbol represents the modern baggage which has two different colours inside. Some passengers may have small baggage, thus I use blue colour in the middle of the symbol.
DRINKING FOUNTAIN This symbol represents the drinking fountain. It tells people that clean drinking water is available for free. The symbol always displays near the toilet areas. This symbol has the faucet symbol which means people use their mouth to drink water easily.
CAR PARK / NO PARKING A car park is the place where people can park their cars at the airport before proceeding to either departure or arrival terminal. The symbol is usually displayed outside the airport terminal. Some airports have a car park area available for VIP members or staff. As a result, other people are not allowed to park in that area; they need to park at the place provided.
SMOKING / NO SMOKING A smoking area is the place for people who want to smoke. However, there are a lot of people who cannot stand the cigarette’s smoke and the buildings are air-conditioned. Thus it needs two different symbols: one is for a smoking area and the other is for a nonsmoking area.
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New symbols are making the travel experience better all the time
TAXI
BAGGAGE LOCKERS Some passengers might not be able to carry all their baggage. Baggage lockers are good places to secure their baggage so the passengers do not need to worry about their baggage and can stroll the airport happily.
This symbol is displayed in the rectangle shape with a locker on the right hand side and the baggage inside the shape. It means that your baggage will be protected until you get it back.
TAXI / BUS
TAXI
A bus and taxi symbol is a good symbol to help some tourists who do not have a car or have no one come to pick
them up. It is a transport mode available. A bus is cheaper than a taxi. However, a taxi is more comfortable as it can take you to the destination straight away. The symbol illustrates how a bus and a taxi look like in New Zealand. Most taxis use Holden
cars, as well as the buses. All the buses have used Holden brand since the Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand in order to promote the country biggest activity). The transportation needs to have a good service for tourists and local people to bring them to their destinations.
FIRST AID A first aid box is a part of the first aid available at the airport. Some tourists might not bring the medicine or have their medicine with them. Therefore, this symbol will lead them to the place where they can find the medicine for any emergency cases. As a result, the symbol needs to be outstanding so it then has a soft orange colour.
CURRENCY EXCHANGE A currency exchange counter is a good place for tourists from overseas to exchange their money to shop inside the airport or they can take the money and use it in the country. This symbol displays three
different coins being put next to each other. The first symbol is a New Zealand dollar. The symbol is used in many countries, such as in the United States, and in Australia. The second coin is a Japanese Yen and the last one is a Euro coin.
PHONE A public phone is one of the things that people use to communicate to other person. Nowadays, there are a lot of mobile phones available but some passengers cannot use their mobile phones at that time. As a result, it is a good idea to show them the public phone symbol available throughout the airport. It also can be used in case of
an emergency. Since the airport terminal is usually crowded, this will help the passengers be able to get in touch with other person more quickly. This symbol is displayed as a public telephone. It has a few buttons for numbers, the receiver and small screen to see the number that you press.
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LOST & FOUND The Lost and Found symbol is used to indicate the place where passenger can go when they lose their baggage. As there are a lot of people at the airport, there are also a lot of chances to lose their baggage or find someone else’s baggage. This symbol can illustrate best
the baggage lost and found by using the dash lines to make the baggage shape, which means there was a baggage here but it has been disappeared until now. Along with, the question mark is also used to symbolize the question that the person has because they don’t know where it is.
ESCALATOR UP & DOWN This symbol displays the escalator which has two kinds. The first one is the two arrows pointing at 45 degree to the top which means this escalator leads to the next floor. The other one is the two arrows point at 45 degrees to the bottom which means this escalator leads people to the lower floor.
EXIT The exit door is partly important for the Auckland airport as it displays how the passengers can go out of the building in case of any emergency. This symbol indicates the emergency door. The orange colour, a close relative of red, sparks more controversy than any other hue. It gives you the feeling of being energetic and the flamboyant orange colour radiates warmth and energy.
CUSTOMS SERVICE Customs service is a part of the security process the tourists need to get through before leaving the airport. In this area, the customs officer will ask the passengers some questions and sometimes will ask them to have their baggage checked. The example question is ‘Is there any illegal stuff that you bring into the New
Zealand?’. There are a few things that are not allowed to bring into this country.
The duty free area is the place where tourists can do some shopping before they get through the immigration area. There are different kinds of goods that tourists like to shop for and they are tax free. Thus the goods are cheaper than the one available outside the airport.
This symbol is displayed as the shopping line along with the shopping items that people can buy from the duty free shops. The plastic shape makes it look modern. This symbol makes people want to spend their money to buy something for someone.
This symbol is displayed as the opened baggage and people can see the things inside the baggage. It is also shows the security cap at the top of the baggage.
DUTY FREE
NO ENTRY A no entry symbol makes for people who are not allowed to enter the area as it allows only staff and people who have got the permission. This symbol is a warning sign not to enter the door. It might have something dangerous to the other people and must be kept out of reach of the people.
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Auckland Airport are all about making your journey better
LOUNGE The lounge or the waiting room is the place for passengers to rest before boarding the flights. The room is fairly good for someone who waits for flight boarding for a long time. This symbol shows the human
figure reading a book with the baggage next to the chair that he sits. Also there is a small clock at the right top corner of the symbol to present the time that passengers need to wait for. This is easy for the tourists to understand the symbol.
INTERNET
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Internet is the place that people can check their emails or surf the Internet. Normally, the airport provides the area that the passengers can surf the Internet. Nowadays, people need the Internet to communicate to other people. It is fast and high-tech. For the tourists, they do not have
a lot of time to phone someone or read a newspaper. Using computer helps them see and know everything in just a few minutes. This symbol tells the passengers where they can find some computers that they can surf the Internet for free.
TRANSFER PASSENGERS
The transfer passenger symbol is to tell the passengers that they can transfer to the place where they have to change the flights. Normally, a bus is used to move the transfer passengers to the other aircraft. This symbol is used
inside the terminal area. It is displayed as the bus, which have two airplanes placed opposite to each other. There also have the arrow pointing from one plane to another, which means they are transferring the passengers.
POLICE A police or a security officer helps the passengers when they have problems or when they need helps. These people are parts of the Auckland airport staff so they can help the passengers as well as the information centre can do. This symbol illustrates the figure of a security officer who walks throughout the airport area with the police’s hat on his head.
ARROW Arrow is the most common symbol to direct people to the destinations. The passengers need to know where they need to go: right, left, straight or back. All these directions use arrows to navigate. Normally the arrow needs to be put with another symbol to explain the way to the location. The shape of the arrow is similar to the wing of the plane, which is better to direct the passenger inside the Auckland Airport Terminal.
CHILDREN’S PLAY AREA
The children play area is the place where parents can drop their children to have fun while they are waiting for their parents who go shopping around the airport terminal or have a rest. There are many things for children to do such as playing the video games, watching the
videos suitable for kids. There is also some staff available to look after the children. The symbol makes it look cute and playful. It means that kids love to have fun while they play in this room and also there is someone to take care of them.
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SYMBOLS About the symbol signs My project is related to the signs and symbols. Human have used signs and symbols to communicate with other people for a long time. Some of the symbols are still appeared in many places. It is the most easy and simple language in this world. After I have done some research in some places, I can develop the new symbols and signage. I decided to start with the Auckland International Airport as it is the first place tourists visit and see New Zealand. This year New Zealand will hold the biggest activity of the year, the Rugby World Cup 2011. There’s
no doubt that the Auckland International Airport which has been awarded as the best top 10 airport in the world will play a vital role in welcoming people from all over the world to join this memorable event. As a result, this is a very good opportunity to re-design the signage using at the airport to make it more up to date and universal. At the initial stage, I have done some research on the airport signage and have developed the one that can better communicate to the viewers. I began to sketch some of the symbols which are related to the airport activities
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such as an arrow, men’s and women’s toilets, departures, arrivals etc. The colour that I use most for the symbols on the signage is the blue tone which matches with the concept of the beautiful blue sky and scenery of New Zealand. In addition, I use the orange colour to symbolize the important signs. This colour makes them more noticeable comparing to the other symbols which are in blue and black colour. I have designed over 30 symbols to be used in the Auckland International Airport. All signage have round corners to make them softer which means warm greeting for the tourists
and warm welcoming them to stay in one of the most natural place in the world. I decided to illustrate all of the symbols on the posters and booklets available at the airport to guide people whenever they need them. In conclusion, all the processes I have done is aimed to improve the airport signage to better communicate to the viewers and since there are many different components that I have developed for the symbols, signage, colour and typography, I believe that the completed project will help Auckland International Airport the most unique airport in this world.
AIRPORT SIGNAGE Airport Signage
List of symbols
Departures Arrivals Men Toilets Women Toilets Elevators Information centre Restaurant Passport Control Baggage Drinking Fountain Car park
No Parking Smoking No Smoking Baggage Lockers Bus Taxi First Aid Currency Exchange Phone Lost & Found Escalator Up
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Example of a top single airport signage
Example of a wall multiple Signage
Escalator Down Exit Customs Service Duty Free No Entry Waiting Room Internet Transfer Passengers Security Arrow (Direction) Children’s Play Area
Auckland Airport contacts: Please note that Auckland Airport is not responsible for flight information, customs, biosecurity, immigration or baggage handling queries. You will need to contact the airline direct or the relevant government agency for flight or travel specific information. For airport services and feedback please use the contact options below: Main contacts (24 hours) Telephone: +64 9 275 0789 or 0800 247 767 (calls within New Zealand only) Fax: +64 9 275 5835 Got a question? If you would like to ask us a question please email to askus@aucklandairport.co.nz Feedback? If you would like to give us your feedback please email to feedback@aucklandairport.co.nz Parking or online booking queries? If you have any parking queries, including issues in regards to the online booking system, please email to parking@aucklandairport.co.nz
Emails will be received during standard business hours. After hours, on weekends and on NZ public holidays, emails will not be checked by a member of our team. They will be actioned as soon as possible on the next business day. For urgent enquiries please use the above telephone numbers
Mailing address Auckland Airport PO Box 73020 Manukau 2150 New Zealand
Delivery address First floor International terminal Ray Emery Drive Auckland Airport Auckland, New Zealand