Thesis Question: How might we reimagine airport spaces using theme park strategies, healthy building concepts and psychological design to reduce stress?
Designer Bio:
Hello! My name is Caroline Buff, and I’m from Marcellus, New York. One of my favorite parts of being in a creative field is learning to use new mediums and experimenting with different styles. Throughout my time at Syracuse, I have taken drawing from observation, painting, ceramics hand-building, illustration for product focus as well as printmaking, including etching, relief and screen printing. Each of my projects through these new mediums has given me new skills and perspectives to translate into my design work. I am most interested in packaging design, branding and identity, and product design research.
Project Description:
Beyond school and design, traveling (and planning) is what I find most fulfilling. In the past two years, I have taken three international trips by myself and have had a whole range of experiences in the travel process: from sleeping on the floor in John F. Kennedy International Airport to perfectly timing my layover in Frankfurt Airport to mastering public transport at Heathrow Airport. I know first hand that planning out every little detail can only take you so far (probably to the TSA security line) before you surrender yourself to whatever the universe has in store for you. Airports are probably one of the most stressful environments, and no matter how much of an expert traveler you consider yourself to be, things can and will go wrong. So why are the environments at airports so sterile, do you think they offer any sort of mental comfort? You’ve done all you can to get to your flight on time! You did it! Yet the environment at the gate is lifeless and draining, and the lack of seating doesn’t help either. Sitting at the gate is like purgatory, perhaps best depicted in Duane Hanson’s “The Traveler” (pictured below). The sculpture has lived in Orlando International Airport since 1985 and has been an accurate representation of passengers: exhausted and anxious. Through my design process, I am hoping to solve this problem and create an environment that helps minimize travel anxiety.
Right now, I’m in the research phase of my thesis, exploring how different environments manage large groups of people. I started by comparing airports: which ones are ranked the most efficient versus the ones passengers actually love. Spoiler alert—there’s zero overlap. From there, I turned to things I know, like how theme parks (especially Disney) tackle wayfinding and rest areas for massive crowds while keeping everyone entertained and happy. I also dug into systems like the London Underground, which is celebrated not just for moving people efficiently but for its character and cultural identity. Lately, I’ve been diving into the International WELL Building Institute and their design standards for improving health and happiness. My research has led me down countless tangents, all of which are helping me figure out what I want my design to achieve—though I still have no idea what it’s going to be just yet.
