Airports tend to be pretty well-marked. Even if you’re not relying on GPS, you are likely to see those familiar airplane symbol signs from the roadway that guide you to the terminal. But at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport (SRQ), many customers were missing the main entrance altogether and winding up in a hotel parking lot rather than at the terminal.
While realizing this was symptomatic of a larger wayfinding problem, the airport just so happened to have a new brand that it wanted to debut. That’s when they called in Gresham Smith to develop and implement a two-phase exterior signage master plan as well as signage upgrades. The end result vastly improves the wayfinding experience at SRQ while emphasizing the airport’s distinctive brand attributes.
new exterior signs
comprehensive exterior master plan
phases of implementation
A Total Solution
To initiate the master planning process, we evaluated existing signage around the airport’s perimeter and the roadways in the immediate vicinity. Although the airport had made a number of upgrades to address dated and worn exterior signage—as well as the relocation of air cargo processing, which impacted circulation—they were only piecemeal in nature.Using a strategic approach, we harnessed the collective expertise of our transportation engineers, wayfinding designers, branded environments experts and architects to develop a total exterior signage solution that would not only meet SRQ’s needs and goals but also maximize opportunities to enhance their brand.