This is a case study of my work at Doha International Airport on the Flight Information Display System redesign, where I was the Lead Interaction Designer.
3. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
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The EVIDS Design concept was a major
project undertaken by the Operations
Planning team at Doha Int’l Airport. The
project involved numerous stakeholders
from the Airport Authority, Qatar Airways
and the Contracting companies. The
project lasted a total of 21 months,
covering user research, prototyping and
implementation.
5. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
PROBLEM
STATEMENT
Design a better information display
ecosystem that matches the ‘exclusive’
feel of our new facility, and transfers
information in a better way to enhance
passenger/customer experience.
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6. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
KEY
STAKEHOLDERS
• HIA Operations Department
• Flight Data & Resource Allocation
• Baggage Handling
• HIA Commercial Department
• HIA Information Technology
• Qatar Airways Information Technology
• Qatar Airways Marketing
• Qatar Airways Premium Operations
• New Doha Int’l Airport
• CP31 (Information Systems)
• Ultra Electronics
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8. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
Key Statistics
The EVIDS project was a large
scale project affecting every single
passenger going through Hamad
International Airport. These
numbers help show the sheer
scale of work that was involved in
the project, from start to finish.
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1,500screens
150graphical
assets
350screen
renderings
47pages of
documentation
21months
1,400emails
9. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
TIMELINE
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Q4 2012 Q1 2013 Q2 2103 Q3 2013 Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014
October 2012
Project Begins
December 2012
DepartmentApproval
February 2013
GCEOApproval
September 2013
Branding Introduction
February 2014
CP31 Workshop
May 2014
Brand Refresh
May 2013
Concept Finalization
July 2013
Asset Completion
February 2014
Branding Completion
June 2014
Core Completion
Ideation Phase
Creation Phase
GraphicalAssets
Business Rules
Branding
Implementation Phase
10. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
SITUATION AT
DOHA INT’L
AIRPORT
A key to understanding how to create a
better product is looking at what is already
available; what would have been done if
nothing was changed.
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11. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
Doha Int’l Airport
We took this project as an
opportunity to see how things
were in DIA, and how we could
improve on them.
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12. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign 12
Doha Int’l Airport
We took this project as an
opportunity to see how things
were in DIA, and how we could
improve on them.
13. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign 13
Doha Int’l Airport
We took this project as an
opportunity to see how things
were in DIA, and how we could
improve on them.
14. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
USER-DRIVEN
RESEARCH
Research methods involved passive
observation as well as active inquiry
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15. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
Passive Observation
The first portion of the ideation
phase was spent observing
passengers’ use of the current
system at Doha Int’l Airport.
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16. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
Labeling Exercises
Research was done on passengers
to understand the best wording to
use for status remarks.
Labels that aviation professionals
assumed trivial were sometimes
not understood by passengers.
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17. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
Active Inquiry
Preliminary design prototypes
were shared with potential users
(passengers, frequent flyers,
designers and Arabic speakers) for
feedback, resulting in incremental
improvements.
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18. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
LESSONS
LEARNED
Through the research and observation,
deeper problems were uncovered that, if
addressed, could lead to a much better
passenger experience.
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19. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
Language Flipping
Most of our passengers were
thrown off by the switching of
languages between Arabic and
English.
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20s
20. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
Use of Language
The use of language plays an
important role in portraying
information. Minor changes, e.g.
from
“Final Call” to “Last Call”, can go a
long way in a region where English
is not the first language of most.
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21. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
User Interface Design
Many changes were needed from
a graphical design perspective to
increase usability, as well as
minimize user distraction.
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22. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
DESIGN
ELEMENTS
Visual cues help passengers understand
information more efficiently, and graphic
elements help achieve the ‘exclusive’ look,
setting Hamad Int’l Airport apart from
other airports in the region.
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23. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
Typography and Color
Frutiger, a font made specifically for
airport signage, is used. Currently,
HIA uses Frutiger for wayfinding
signage in English, however we
would use it in Arabic as well, as it
works better on screens.
More subtle colors are used (dark
grey instead of pure black, light
beige instead of pure white). Lower
contrast ensures less eye strain.
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Contrast is considered good for
readability, but not too much.
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Kuala Lumpur
24. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign 24
Typography and Color
Frutiger, a font made specifically for
airport signage, is used. Currently,
HIA uses Frutiger for wayfinding
signage in English, however we
would use it in Arabic as well, as it
works better on screens.
More subtle colors are used (dark
grey instead of pure black, light
beige instead of pure white). Lower
contrast ensures less eye strain.
25. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
Tailfin Logos
The ‘Tailfin Logo’ style enabled us
to standardize all airline logos. This
allowed for a cleaner look.
They are what a passenger sees
right before boarding their plane,
and using them freed us enough
horizontal space to put the airline
name as well; which is more legible
than the logo.
Each logo is meticulously created
as a vector, with minute details
taken into consideration to match
the airline’s livery completely.
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26. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
Architectural Elements
Prior to the Hamad Int’l Airport
Logo/Branding, architectural
elements were used to feed into
the design of the EVIDS. This
ensured the screens were in
harmony with the airport facility.
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27. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
Other design elements
Arabic and English text is placed
on the same page to minimize
rotation for passengers’
convenience.
Passengers can scan QR codes
which direct them to the HIA
website, so they can check flight
information on the go.
Weather statuses on boarding
gates inform passengers on the
destinations. Special icons were
created the region, including
“dusty” and “sandstorm” icons.
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Kuala Lumpur
Adaptation of “Climacons” by Adam Whitecroft
28. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
PROPOSED
DESIGNS
The following designs were used in Hamad
Int’l Airport for a couple of months until the
branded version was completed.
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33. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
BRANDED
DESIGNS
HIA Operations worked together with the
branding agency, StartJG, to produce a set
of designs that follow the HIA Brand
Guidelines. These are in current operation
at Hamad Int’l Airport.
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38. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
FUTURE
PLANS
To integrate the system better into the
Hamad Int’l Airport ecosystem,
incremental changes will need to be made
to adapt to the constant change in the
airport environment.
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39. Hamad International Airport: EVIDS Redesign
POTENTIAL
PROJECTS
• Splitting of screens for MAGS usage
• “Baggage belt display” on Arrivals PLB
• Installation of EVIDS in Passenger Busses
• Integration of EVIDS with HIA mobile app
• Addition of walk times on a ‘per flight’ basis
• Provision of higher resolution, larger screens
• Segregation of flight information by area
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40. Electronic Visual Information Display System
Design Concept And Branding
Positive Colors Light Backgrounds
Negative Colors on Dark Backgrounds