2020 Airport Business Top 40 Under 40: Krystal L. Schumacher

Nov. 24, 2020

Krystal L. Schumacher developed an interest in commercial design, the capability of impacting other people and the graphic side of design while she was studying architecture in college. She helped develop and propose an environmental graphic design course while pursuing her masters degree, which grew an interest in wayfinding, which opened the door to an opportunity at Denver International Airport (DEN).

“I enjoy being a part of and contributing to the constant innovations, solutions and community were everyone has a common interest, connecting people to places safely and efficiently by air travel,” she said.

Schumacher became Denver International Airport’s project manager for wayfinding in 2015. She began managing her own projects, but soon became the supervisor over all wayfinding projects, overseeing a project designer/technician, yearly interns, as well as the contributions of the graphics staff within DEN Maintenance.

She started by spear-heading the search for a new wayfinding consultant which ended in the selection of Bureau Mijksenaar. Under her guidance, they developed the overall wayfinding master plan to guide the work that was going to take place over the next few years.

During the Pena Boulevard Improvement Project, a design-build re-design of the main boulevard into the DEN Terminal, Schumacher realized that this project had only engineers designing standard highway signs. With limited budget, she found a way to secure the services of an airport roadway wayfinding expert to develop a concept for the new signage they would need on the Boulevard, managed his work, and presented the results to the leadership team.

“Wayfinding touches so many different projects, departments and interests throughout the airport and I thoroughly enjoy building relationships and working with the many different departments, leaders and teams to develop the most effective solutions that reach to so many users,” Schumacher said.

Schumacher has been asked to present papers at international meetings of wayfinding designers on the subject of airport wayfinding; and she has participated in national networking groups discussing aviation industry wayfinding trends. One of her avocations has been to give back to her profession by teaching a university-level distance-learning class in environmental graphics and wayfinding through her alma mater, the University of Nebraska – Lincoln.