Dustin Gandof
Jane Davis Doggett, a pioneering woman who played a key role in making Tampa International Airport user-friendly for millions of travelers, passed away on April 10, 2023, at the age of 93. She was a well-known artist and an aviation icon who relentlessly worked towards improving airport navigation systems and wayfinding designs.
As an art director at the architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), she was appointed to lead the design of the wayfinding system for the Tampa International Airport. She created a distinctive system of symbols, color-coding, and typography that made navigating the airport easy and stress-free for passengers. Her work at the airport, which spanned several years, was nothing short of revolutionary, and it has now become a benchmark in the field of airport wayfinding and design.
Doggett’s commitment to design and helping others extended far beyond the Tampa International Airport project. She was a prolific artist, and her works were regularly exhibited in galleries across the globe. Her travels inspired her art, and her wanderlust took her to 50 countries around the world.
Throughout her life, Doggett remained passionate about design and wayfinding, and her contributions to the field earned her several awards and accolades. She was the recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Texas at Austin and was inducted into the Interior Design Hall of Fame in 2021.
Doggett’s passing has left a void in the aviation industry, and it serves as a reminder of the importance of creating functional, intuitive, and visually appealing wayfinding systems for public spaces. Her legacy will live on through the countless passengers who have benefitted from her vision and talent, and she will always be remembered as a true pioneer in the field of airport design and wayfinding.
