Airports are incredible places — organized, structured, and purposeful in their designs. Every runway, taxiway, and terminal is configured to orchestrate each aircraft's movements in and out of the facility, and is designed to enhance the safe and efficient flow of air traffic for each and every flight. What may be overlooked is the operational layout's beauty and elegance. At SkyBird Supply, we take these real-world designs and convert them into beautiful custom airport posters and wall art that are derived from operational data and become works that are thoughtful and minimalist.
Every one of these maps serves a purpose and goes beyond being wall decor for pilots, travel enthusiasts, and anyone who's flown on an aircraft. These pieces of art serve to celebrate a journey or to commemorate an accomplishment are and are often used to tell a story. This is the story of how we turn raw data from an airport into crafted pieces of aviation art.
Where It Starts: Authentic Airport Data
Every personalized airplane terminal drawing starts with one necessary component which is correct data about airports. Data which is needed includes:
- Official drawing of runways
- Layout of taxiways
- Location of terminals
- Airport navigation
- ICAO and IATA codes
Each map we design, whether your terminal is in a major city or a small town, is based on research which includes satellite images, publicly available data, and mapping resources. We aim to reflect the precise structure of the airport as a poster. No matter the airport size, we work to get the geometry of the airport as perfect as we can.
When designing airport maps, we aim to ensure pilots can recognize every aspect of the airport they've flown into. That is the emotional value we aim to deliver with every map, and especially home maps and first solo airports.
Layout to Line Art: the Design Stage
After accurate data is collected, we start the design. The next stage of the design is merging creativity with data and drawing. The three steps of the designing process are:
- Streamlining the geometry
Adjusting to the data we collected, drawing the simplified design.
One of the main challenges here is ensuring that while details are minimized, the resultant map is still visually appealing.
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Selecting the Style
SkyBird Supply has quite the selection of styles, including minimalist, modern, vintage-inspired, and bold graphics. The chosen style dictates the styles of the line weights, the degree of contrast, the amount of spaces, and the visual tone as a whole.
The final product results in the feel of a well-cured, balanced, and timeless airport poster.
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Defining the Composition
Each airport in the world has a one-of-a-kind layout. Some have parallel runways, while others have a triangle shape, and intricate crossing path designs. The map is designed to fit harmoniously to the scale and rotation of the wall in which a borderless wall art piece of the print is to be hung.
The aim is to achieve a clean final design, one which looks like art, and not a chart filled with data.
Adding Personal Meaning
Perhaps the greatest aspect of airport wall art is the ability to personalize it. Customers at SkyBirdSupply.com get the opportunity to modify their posters to tell their bugs and pilot stories. Some of the most popular customizations include:
- Call sign or pilot name
- Tail Number
- Date(s) of either first solo, checkride, or anniversaries
- ICAO and IATA codes
- Location text
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Specialized titles like Home Airport or First Solo Airport
The addition of these customizations transforms the art to a map of a memory, and value.
Starting with the Final Design: Premium Printing
After the design is ready, it can go to the printing stage. SkyBird Supply uses quality archival ink, as well as museum-quality paper printed with high resolutions to ensure every line is well-defined and durable.
The result is an attractive, high-quality aviation décor piece that looks good on any wall, be it a pilot’s office, living room, or an aviation-themed room.
Why Airport Layouts Make Exceptional Wall Art
The combination of maps with airport design adds a structural element with stories and style. Here is why airport maps work as custom wall art.
- Clean, Geometric Beauty
There is a symmetry and balance in the design of runways and taxiways that is visually stunning. These natural patterns and geometries compliments minimalist décor and modern interiors.
- Emotional Connection
For aviation lovers and pilots, airports can represent major life milestones such as a first solo, first job, first international trip or a favorite destination. Seeing these places on the wall is a daily reminder of the memories.
- Universal Appeal
The aesthetic structure and modern style of these posters is appreciated by those outside the aviation world as well. They balance sophistication, subtlety, and meaning without the need for explanation.
- Endless Possibilities
With thousands of airports around the world, the potential is endless. Every single one has a history worth telling from the big boys like JFK and LAX to the small local ones known only to locals.
Where Data Meets Design: SkyBird Supply
At SkyBirdSupply.com, we try to capture and frame the layouts of airports so people can have a piece of art containing the design of an actual, functioning airport. With regard to both true representations of layouts and their creative use, we hope to capture the essence of all airports on an emotional level.
With art that has meaning, we hope to create something special that can have a place of honor in someone's home whether that person is a pilot, has a special place in their heart for aviation, or is aviation a personal piece of history for them.
FAQs
Q: Can I request a custom poster of any airport?
Ans. Yep. SkyBird Supply is happy to create posters of any airport in the world, even small regional airports and private ones.
Q: Can I personalize the design?
Ans.For sure. You can even customize it with a name, date, call sign, tail number, or ICAO code to make it truly one-of-a-kind.
Q: Are the designs based on real airport data?
Ans. Absolutely. Every single one is crafted with detail and true layouts to guarantee authenticity.
Q: What printing materials do you use?
Ans. For printing, we use a specialized paper and archival-quality inks that will last a very long time and print very high resolutions.
Q: Where can I get custom airport map posters?
Ans. All custom posters can be found on SkyBirdSupply.com.