1. Airline Boarding Pass Redesign
The first thing for me to redesign the airline boarding pass is to list out the elements that I believe are most essential to two groups of people: passengers and airport staff. The design of the boarding pass should be informative and organized to both groups of people who have different needs on a single piece of paper.
| genreal | before boarding | boarding and taking off | |
| customer | origin, destination, date, flight number, departure time, name and identity info | boarding time, departure gate, departure time, flight number, seat | seat, zone, bag reference number |
| airport staff | origin, destination, name and identity info, barcode | name and identity info, origin, destination, barcode | name and identity info, origin, destination, barcode, bag reference number |
For the needs of both groups, I recalled my experience of taking planes from NYC JFK airport. The first few things that I will check out when my boarding pass is printed out are name, origin and destination, and departure time. After I confirm that all the information is correct, I will check the departure gate and boarding time immediately to find out which zone I should go for security check and how much time do I have to catch on this flight (I am always the last-minute guy). An officer standing at the entrance of the security check zone will check the ID and airline boarding pass information and scan the barcode and circle the boarding time on the boarding pass before allowing people queuing for the security check. After the security check, I usually skim the departure gate again and check it with the screen displaying the flight and gate information to make sure I am going to the right one. At the departure gate, I will double check that my flight does not change the gate and wait for boarding. At that moment all I care about is my seat and zone. At boarding time, the airport staff will check the flight info and scan the barcode. Finding the seat and settle down until taking off, the boarding pass information is no longer needed. After the plane takes off, only one left important information that I will need to check on the boarding pass which is the bag reference number. I will make sure I double-check this number with the one attached to my bag because I mistakenly bring other’s bag home once.
COLOR
Well, by sorting out the priority of the elements for both passengers and airport staff, I start to design the boarding pass. The color blue and red I applied on the boarding pass is the same color as Delta logo uses, which helps maintain the integrity of the design. These colors are also the major theme color that Delta has been used for a long time, which definitely helps passengers to recognize the airline they are about to take. I divided the boarding pass horizontally with color white and blue, which allows me to put prioritized elements for both groups into different areas. The white part includes the elements that airport staff expect to see, while the blue part displays the information that matters more to passengers. But the elements are not assigned into two categories only by the interest of two groups, which also involves aesthetics and design needs. I paint text in white with blue background and paint text in black with white background aiming for strong contrast in color, and
FONT
I want to make sure that all the important element stands out and organized, so I used font: Arial black for the most important information: origin and destination with the largest font size among all the text on the boarding pass. I apply a larger font size to the important information and a relatively smaller size to its label. For example, “departure time” displays in a smaller size comparing to the content “12:30pm”.
CONTENT
I use some icons such as the bag icon and arrow icon (this is sourced from the original Delta logo) to visualize the information. I also restrain the elements on the small tear-off part, which is the part that will be collected by the airport staff when boarding on the plane. I only keep the most important and useful information that the airport staff needs.
The element “TSA Precheck” has a formal and recognizable icon, so I apply that on the boarding pass instead of the text “TSA Precheck”. The text “boarding pass”, from my understanding, is easily recognized by this piece of paper and all the information on it already, so I put the text in grey with the least priority.
2. Three Expressive Words
Fill
I put four white squares in the middle of the black block as a letter container. The meaning of the word “Fill” is to put someone or something into (a space or container) so that it is completely or almost completely full according to the definition by dictionary. I leave the second square blank while the other three contain one, which makes people fill the letter out subconsciously as “fill” stands for.
Shadow
I relate the word “shadow” with its existing form in real life. I stretch the word align with a specific angle to make it flatter and narrower. I also put a shutter-like billboard to emphasize the word lying on the ground is formed by shadow.
Bounce
I move some letters vertically up and down which is exactly the meaning of the word “bounce”. To enhance the dynamic of bouncing, I put a curve below to represent a trampoline.
