Article published In:
Information Design Journal: Online-First ArticlesWhen multiple route map designs are used by the same bus company
Cause, usability testing, and implications
This paper reports three separate studies. Study 1 consisted of route map observations; study 2 looked at map creator’s perspective, and study 3 considered user research and route map usage. It was observed that the route maps issued by one bus service provider in Fukuoka, Japan, have as many as 24 types of design variations. According to the route map creators, limited resources was the main reason for this practice. Route map usability testing, keyword sorting and interviews were conducted as part of a user-focused research. Map-reading tests revealed several practices that have a negative impact on user’s ability to read route maps, and the user research revealed that users prefer a unified design.
Article outline
- Research overview
- Study 1: Route map observations
- Method
- Results and analysis
- 1.Text versus diagram dimension
- 2.Matrix versus freeform dimension
- Study 2: Creator’s perspective
- Method
- Results
- Study 3: User research and route map usage test
- Method
- 1.Participants
- 2.Procedure
- 4.1.2.1Map reading experiment
- 4.1.2.2Keyword sorting experiment
- 4.1.2.3Interviews
- 4.1.3Materials
- 4.2Results and analysis
- 4.2.1Experiment on route map usage
- 4.2.1.1Learning confidence and time
- 4.2.1.2Map reading task 1: Identification of the current stop
- 4.2.1.3Map reading Task 2: Bus number to a particular destination
- 4.2.1.4Map reading task 3: Identifying the final stop for a particular bus number
- 4.2.1.5Summary
- 4.2.1.5.1Bus numbering and bus stop naming
- 4.2.1.5.2Differential graphical treatment
- 4.2.1.5.3Grouping/structure
- 4.2.1.5.4Language barrier
- 4.2.1.5.5Informational load and font size
- 4.2.2Route map PSSUQ score and perceived difficulty
- 4.2.3Keyword sorting
- 4.2.4Interviews
- 4.2.4.1Map-type superiority
- 4.2.4.2Types of users based on their bus usage patterns
- 4.2.4.3Printed versus Internet-based information
- 4.2.4.4Effect of practice
- 4.2.1Experiment on route map usage
- Method
- 5.General discussion
- 6.Conclusion
- Acknowledgement
-
References
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