What does Air Design do?

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.

What is wayfinding design?

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.

What is the difference between wayfinding and signage?

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.

How does wayfinding affect footfall and commercial performance?

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.

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.

Should brand strategy come before or after masterplanning?

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.

Does Air Design work internationally?

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.

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

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.

Wayfinding Design for Boulevard District, Riyadh

Air Design has been appointed to deliver a comprehensive wayfinding scheme for Boulevard District, one of Riyadh’s most ambitious destination developments and a flagship project within Saudi Vision 2030.

Spanning 1.7 million square metres, Boulevard District brings together five distinct destinations across a single integrated environment. Our wayfinding scope covers the full district:

Boulevard World a global leisure destination welcoming millions of visitors annually, with 1,142 retail and dining outlets and the world’s largest artificial lake.

Boulevard City an 837,000 sqm mixed-use shopping and entertainment destination attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

Kingdom Arena and ANB Arena two premier live entertainment venues and home to the globally renowned Riyadh Season programme and Al Hilal SFC.

Boulevard Business Park a forthcoming hub for leading international entertainment companies, currently in development.

Designing wayfinding for an environment of this scale and complexity requires a strategic approach from the outset. With multiple distinct destinations, high footfall across diverse visitor demographics, and a mix of retail, leisure, sport, and business uses, clear and intuitive navigation is critical to the overall visitor experience.

This appointment builds on Air Design’s established presence in Saudi Arabia and our broader portfolio of wayfinding and signage design across complex, high-footfall destinations in the Middle East and internationally.

We will be sharing progress on the project as it develops.

Boulevard District Wayfinding

Wayfinding Design for Boulevard District, Riyadh

Branding, Wayfinding and Placemaking Consultants

Branding, Wayfinding and Placemaking Consultants