Amsterdam\u2019s Schiphol airport is a world in motion. Every month, around six million people pass through its halls, served by 94 airlines connecting the Netherlands to the world.<\/p>\n
Following a sharp rise in post-pandemic traffic, Schiphol turned its attention to improving the experience of every passenger moving through the airport. The overarching goal was to bring calm and coherence back to one of Europe\u2019s busiest crossroads.<\/p>\n
As part of a wider investment programme \u2013 modernising infrastructure, improving staff facilities, and making the airport more sustainable \u2013 Schiphol also set out to redefine its identity. The ambition was as much cultural as operational.<\/p>\n
The team wanted to lift service quality, restore pride, and move back into Europe\u2019s top three busiest airports \u2013 it currently sits fourth, behind London Heathrow, Istanbul Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle.<\/p>\n
Central to that vision was the new identity, crafted by Amsterdam-based design studio Thonik<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thonik\u2019s new identity for Schiphol Airport<\/p>\n \u201cWe saw the brand as a compass \u2013 a way to bring back quality, ease and clarity to the travel experience,\u201d says Sander Hengeveld, head of brand at Schiphol. \u201cSchiphol was full of visual noise, and the existing identity simply wasn\u2019t distinctive enough.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond recognition and clarity, the identity needed an emotional centre, something that could connect the airport\u2019s many audiences under a single idea.<\/p>\n Schiphol wanted the brand to express care, belonging, and pride, not just operational efficiency. That search led the team to a simple brand idea \u2013 \u201ca home for world travellers.\u201d<\/p>\n While the brand needed to carry this emotional through-line, it also had to honour Schiphol\u2019s storied history.<\/p>\n To imagine the airport\u2019s future, Thonik looked back to its past, specifically 1967, when a landmark new terminal building opened at Schiphol.<\/p>\n The identity was crafted by Thonik, while the advertising campaign was led by Ace Amsterdam<\/p>\n At the time, the architects, interior designers, and graphic designers worked together to create a space centred on the traveller.<\/p>\n When the team studied their work, a singular lesson emerged \u2013 good design can make complex systems feel effortless. Thonik\u2019s challenge was to capture that sense of ease in a visual system \u2013 distinctive enough to stand out, but quiet enough to bring calm.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you want to be distinctive, the instinct is to be loud and bold,\u201d says Thomas Widdershoven, Thonik co-founder and creative director. \u201cBut airports are already full of loud voices \u2013 airlines, shops, advertisements. We felt that if we spoke more quietly, the overall tone might soften, and people would actually hear us more clearly.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an unorthodox approach in such a competitive space, but that quietness became our strength.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to the visual clutter so often synonymous with airports, Thonik crafted a pared-back identity. At its heart sits \u2018AMS\u2019 \u2013 Schiphol\u2019s IATA code \u2013 held within a circle and paired with the Schiphol wordmark.<\/p>\n Thonik\u2019s wordmark for Schiphol Airport<\/p>\n \u201cWe wanted AMS to feel like the icon \u2013 a symbol of place and movement \u2013 but Schiphol needed to remain the name people connected with. That balance was crucial,\u201d says Nikki Gonnissen, Thonik\u2019s co-founder and director.<\/p>\n The two work together to express both global reach and national pride.<\/p>\n The circle that holds \u2018AMS\u2019 is deliberately oversized \u2013 expansive rather than enclosed \u2013 ensuring it doesn\u2019t read as a literal wayfinding dot or tight badge.<\/p>\n A subtle forward slant on the \u2018A\u2019 introduces a sense of motion and gives the overall mark a visual rhythm.<\/p>\n The circle from the logo extends into the wider brand world, evolving into ripples or a single guiding line, and at times expanding into a soft pulse of concentric rings.<\/p>\n The circle from the logo transitions to ripples<\/p>\n These are the only graphic gestures Thonik allows in the identity, reinforcing the brand\u2019s quiet confidence.<\/p>\n Used sparingly, the concentric circles become some of the identity\u2019s most expressive moments. At the arrival gates, they appear as a gentle embrace \u2013 a visual metaphor for reunion and return.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the arrival gates, we chose not to use the logo at all,\u201d says Widdershoven. \u201cYou only see the circles and the tagline \u2013 it carries the language of the identity without repeating the brand. There are enough logos in the world. For us, it was about bringing warmth to a moment of emotion, not pushing the identity to sell itself again.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite its restraint, the identity leaves room for expression. \u201cThere are moments when you can turn the volume up \u2013 when the surroundings are quieter, the brand can speak a little louder,\u201d says Hengeveld.<\/p>\n The circular graphic at the arrival gate<\/p>\n \u201cBut its role is always to support, not overwhelm. Less is more was one of our core principles.\u201d<\/p>\n As the team began integrating the logo with Schiphol\u2019s wayfinding system, they realised they needed a typeface that could work seamlessly across every touchpoint \u2013 and it didn\u2019t yet exist.<\/p>\n Frutiger, the typeface previously used for wayfinding, was admired for its clarity and legibility, with open terminals and generous counters. But it also felt cold, too functional to carry the warmth of Schiphol\u2019s new promise \u2013 a home for world travellers.<\/p>\n To bridge that gap, Thonik partnered with type foundry Bold Monday to create Royal Schiphol Group Variable, a custom sans serif that could speak fluently across both commercial and informational contexts.<\/p>\n Interestingly, the typeface\u2019s variability wasn\u2019t planned and was rather a product of the process. When the typeface was handed over to Ace Amsterdam \u2013 the team behind Schiphol\u2019s campaigns and the tagline \u2018Today is the day\u2019 \u2013 they condensed the tracking to create a warmer, more emotive tone for advertising.<\/p>\n RSG Variable works across wayfinding and advertising<\/p>\n That discovery revealed the typeface\u2019s true flexibility \u2013 a wider version for clarity in wayfinding, and a denser one for lifestyle-led comms. What began as a small \u201crule break\u201d soon became a new design principle.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Dutch are very good at breaking rules,\u201d laughs Gonnissen. \u201cRules are there to break, and then we cook them up again.\u201d<\/p>\n The designers hope that over time, the identity will help shift perceptions of the airport \u2013 that Schiphol isn\u2019t just a gateway, but a place that feels good to be in.<\/p>\n \u201cA few years from now, we want people to associate Schiphol with well-being, a place that\u2019s clear, calm, and feels like home,\u201d says Widdershoven.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, we want to be back in Europe\u2019s top three airports, but more importantly, we want to get there by making travel feel human again.\u201d<\/p>\n The identity and Ace Amsterdam\u2019s campaign seen outside the airport
\nThe circle from the logo turns into guiding lines in wayfinding and informational text
\nThe new identity and campaign as seen at the airport<\/p>\n