Question 1

What does Air Design do?

Accepted Answer

Air Design is a London-based creative design consultancy specialising in wayfinding, branding, placemaking, and design strategy. Founded in 1998, we help developers, asset managers, operators, and public bodies create environments that are distinctive, navigable, and commercially effective across more than 30 countries.

Question 2

What is wayfinding design?

Accepted Answer

Wayfinding design is the process of helping people navigate and understand an environment through a coordinated system of signage, mapping, typography, colour, and spatial cues. Effective wayfinding shapes first impressions, supports accessibility, influences dwell time, and communicates the character and identity of a place.

Question 3

What is the difference between wayfinding and signage?

Accepted Answer

Signage refers to the physical signs installed in a space. Wayfinding is the broader strategic and design process that determines what signs are needed, where they should go, what information they carry, and how they work together as a system.

Question 4

How does wayfinding affect footfall and commercial performance?

Accepted Answer

Well-designed wayfinding directly influences commercial performance. Festival Place Basingstoke saw annual footfall grow from 20 million to 22.4 million — a 25% increase — following Air Design's integrated branding and wayfinding programme. Waasland Shopping Centre in Belgium achieved an immediate 20% footfall increase following our wayfinding and interior redesign.

Question 5

What is placemaking?

Accepted Answer

Placemaking is the process of shaping the physical, social, and cultural character of a place so that it feels distinctive, welcoming, and genuinely connected to the people who use it. At Air Design, placemaking begins with research into a site's history, community, and context before any design decisions are made.

Question 6

Should brand strategy come before or after masterplanning?

Accepted Answer

At Air Design, we believe brand strategy should come before spatial decisions are fixed, not after. Every masterplan carries implicit assumptions about identity. If those assumptions haven't been consciously shaped through brand strategy, the result is often a place that feels generic. Brand before blueprint produces places with genuine distinctiveness.

Question 7

Does Air Design work internationally?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Air Design has delivered projects in more than 30 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Central Asia. International projects include Tashkent City Mall in Uzbekistan, The Address Hotels in Dubai, Russian Railways national wayfinding system, Digital City Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, and the Shanghai Modern Art Museum in China.

Question 8

At what stage should I involve a wayfinding or branding consultant?

Accepted Answer

The earlier the better. Air Design frequently joins projects at the earliest strategic stage — before spatial layouts are fixed or design briefs are issued — and stays involved through to fabrication and installation. Engaging a consultant early avoids costly revisions later and ensures identity and navigation are considered as fundamental design inputs.

Selma Flint