Design Archives - Your Mileage May Vary

The Secrets Of Why Airports Are Designed Like They Are

Unless you’re in “the business,” you probably don’t put much thought into why certain places are designed the way they are.

Restaurant logos use a lot of red, orange and yellow because those colors have an effect of appetite stimulants
The restrooms in Disney parks around the world are designed to make the flow of traffic go faster
Modern-day hotel lobbies often have the restaurants/bars in the open (or at least nearby) to entice you to buy there, and to make it easier for staff, who sometimes work double duty.
We’re admittedly still not sure what this hotel designer had in mind with (s)he made this decision?!?!?

But sometimes building designs go way beyond the obvious and focus on the subconscious things that help us make decisions. Airports are a prime example. Take a look:

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Video of the History & Future of Airports, As Seen In 1958

The first scheduled commercial airline flight took place in 1914. A little more than a decade later, there were enough commercial flights that the Air Commerce Act of 1926 was established to regularize commercial aviation by establishing standards, facilitation, and promotion.

Following the slowdown of the Depression and its aftermath, flight became more and more available to John Q. Public and by the end of the 1950s, flying had become nearly commonplace. With more people in more planes flown by more airlines, expansion was needed at many airports to keep up with the demand.

Dulles was one such airport…

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What Was This Hotel Room Designer THINKING????

It must be a thankless job to be a hotel room designer. Either you’re trying to make a cookie cutter hotel room seem interesting and inviting, or you’re having to shoehorn a design into a hotel that has a seemingly infinite number of different room configurations. You’re also trying to maximize the functionality of the room with a limited amount of space, while at the same time trying to remain current with design trends. AND you’re trying to please different masters – keeping the hotel executives happy while pleasing hotel guests.

While I can usually see the thought process behind many decisions (except removing desks from hotel rooms; that’s just dumb), I found a hotel room that had a layout where I just couldn’t believe no one noticed this major design flaw.

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