San Francisco International Airport (SFO) Wayfinding Program



The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) Wayfinding Program combines ambitious changes to enhance the guest experience and optimize Airport operations with reimagined product, service and information designs that are intuitive to use, and more sustainable to manage and maintain. The program sets a new benchmark for the North
American aviation sector.

Agency

City ID

Practice Area

Client

San Francisco International Airport

Industry

Freestanding, backlit 3×2 Dashboard implemented at a recognizable and memorable decision point within the new Harvey Milk Terminal 1, Boarding Area B.

Photograph by Joe Fletcher. Suspended artwork by Mark Handforth, 2019

Thumbnails of the five parts of the SFO Wayfinding Guidance System; The SFO Way, ProjectProcess, Masterplan, Application & Artworking, Standards & Appendices.

Documentation by City ID

Render of 3×2 Dashboard with a cassette loading hinge, Baggage Carousel, a suspended
Directional Blade and Levels Pylon

Renders by Billings Jackson Design

Detail of flight information displays, employing the bespoke SFO font, implemented in the new
Harvey Milk Terminal 1, Boarding Area B.

Photography by City ID

Printed terminal map, a guide for passengers and staff, highlighting airport services specific to
Terminal 2 and airport-wide connections.

Photography by City ID

Detail of Dashboard, information types include; Terminal 2 Map highlighting ‘You Are Here’ and walk times, AirTrain Map, Levels Guide and Directory

Photography by City ID

Harvey Milk Terminal 1 departures concourse, featuring suspended Directional Blades, GateIdentification Blades and Digital Displays.

Photography by Joe Fletcher

  1. Render of a Dashboard, including Flight Information Displays, a Terminal Map Module and a notification display.

    Billings Jackson Design

  2. Thumbnails of the five parts of the SFO Wayfinding Guidance System; The SFO Way, ProjectProcess, Masterplan, Application & Artworking, Standards & Appendices.

    Documentation by City ID

  3. Render of 3×2 Dashboard with a cassette loading hinge, Baggage Carousel, a suspended Directional Blade and Levels Pylon

    Renders by Billings Jackson Design

  4. Printed terminal map, a guide for passengers and staff, highlighting airport services specific to Terminal 2 and airport-wide connections.

    Photography by City ID

  5. Detail of Dashboard, information types include; Terminal 2 Map highlighting ‘You Are Here’ and walk
    times, AirTrain Map, Levels Guide and Directory

    Photography by City ID

  6. Harvey Milk Terminal 1 departures concourse, featuring suspended Directional Blades, GateIdentification Blades and Digital Displays.

    Photography by Joe Fletcher

Project Details
Design Team

City ID: Mike Rawlinson, (design director providing creative direction and leadership of the design team), Jason Smith, (projects director responsible for planning and managing the design team and implementation process), Nick Durrant, (design specialist in human factors, behavior analysis, insights and service design processes), Harriet Hand, (design specialist in wayfinding design strategy, information planning, system architecture and identity design), David Gillam, (principal designer leading strategic design process and wayfinding system design development), Tom Eves, Liam Randall, (project Lead in wayfinding planning, design and implementation across various program projects), Cal Jepps, Josh Sherwood, Lottie Webb, (senior Designer working on wayfinding system planning, cartography and identity development), Olivia Bull, Hannah Chatham, (designer working on wayfinding system planning, cartography and identity development)

Billings Jackson Design:
Duncan Jackson, Niels Denekamp, (senior designer of applied industrial design for new family of wayfinding products)

San Francisco International Airport:
Jacob Ehrenberg, (SFO wayfinding program director), Ivar Satero, (airport director), Jeff Littlefield, (chief operating officer), Geoff Neumayr, (chief development officer), Judi Mosqueda, (director of project management), Eva Cheong, (managing director of airport services), Erica Cline, (signage and wayfinding manager), Nupur Sinha, (director of planning and environmental), Blake Summers, (director and chief curator), Christopher Birch, (director of guest experience)

Collaborators

Fisher Development Inc. (fabricator), 

Future Systems Inc., (fabrication of prototypes and products for various projects), 

LaHue & Associates, (implementation of various projects), 

Monster Route, (fabrication of prototypes and products for various projects), 

Priority Architectural Graphics, (implementation of various projects)

SFO Sign Shop and Reprographics teams

Studio 431 Landscape Forms, (fabricator of prototypes)

Vomar Products, (fabrication of prototypes)

Corgan Associates Inc., (wayfinding enhancement program, wayfinding architectural integration)

Faith Group, (utilities and data integration services)

Gensler & Woods Bagot, (terminal 1 wayfinding architectural integration)

Michael Thomson, (design connect, specialist advisor)

Bruno Maag, Dalton Maag, (typography)

Jon Canapary, Canapary & Galanis, (research)

Photo Credits

Billings Jackson Design (renderings), City ID, Joe Fletcher (photography)

Open Date

September 2019