Airbus are global pioneers of innovative and sustainable aerospace solutions. As the largest aeronautics and space company in Europe, they are industry leaders with over 130,000 employees. They design, manufacture, and deliver products and services for commercial aircraft, security, space and even defence.
When Airbus secured brand new premises for their head office, they contacted Aura for interior and exterior branding throughout the multi-floor building. Airbus was assigned an Aura Project Manager who carried out a thorough consultation. This involved reviewing their colour pallet and mood board, along with a catalogue of images which our designers used for inspiration and incorporated into the final designs. A branding audit followed, to assess and measure the areas allocated for branding.
Due to their huge presence in the industry, it was essential that the Airbus head office represented the magnitude of the work they do and highlighted the milestones they have reached. The pressure was on for Aura to deliver an outstanding branded environment that makes an impact on employees and visitors alike.
Airbus’s key requirement was that the branding made a bold statement and was an accurate representation of what they do. The focus was on large scale graphics to bring the large, plain office to life and create an immersive experience at the heart of the company. This involved incorporating real Airbus products into the designs.
The scale of the project and open-plan office environment presented challenges as the designs needed to flow seamlessly as well as differentiate between areas. However, as the first stage of our process was an in-depth consultation and brand audit, we had a clear idea of the client’s expectations. By working closely with the client, we were able to develop our designs and colours to compliment the office and kitchen mood boards.
Our designers were then able to provide two to three on-target design variations for each floor for Airbus to choose from, as well as 3D mock-ups of each floor showcasing the various designs as they would appear in real life.
Exterior branding is responsible for formulating first impressions, so the design at the front of the building was one of the most important areas that had to be eye-catching and memorable. Initially, the client proposed a graphic to the left of the door, but Aura suggested maximising the potential of the large expanse of glass with full-scale glazing.
The star of the show was the 90sqM glazing applied to the front of the building featuring the Airbus Skynet satellite. The image has created a truly striking facade, encapsulating the core of Airbus and captivating passers-by, and the theme ran through the building with their own satellite images and space scenes used at various locations.
We gave each floor its own concept relating to the work that Airbus does and is being carried out on that level; for example, designs included a Space-themed floor and a Mars-themed floor featuring images of the ExoMars Rover.
Aura produced over 1000sqM of graphics for acrylics, single-piece wall graphics, cut vinyl text, carbon prints and silicone edge tension fabric systems, all painstakingly designed to work in harmony. We also used Auraflex to create bi-folding meeting room dividers displaying digitally printed graphics. Auraflex ensures extreme resistance to wear and tear, making it a great product for this purpose due to its durability.
We added focus points to corridors, meeting rooms and meeting pods with over 70 individual framed acrylic graphics showcasing Airbus products. All of the designs incorporated the Airbus ‘carbon wave’ which is part of their branding and provides continuity throughout.
We understood the customer needs and expectations perfectly and Airbus were delighted with the result!
