My inner usability geek is crying again
Just a random inquiry to readers of this blog, prompted by my investigating minor changes to the bus routes around campus:
Which system map do you think is easier to read for UGA‘s campus bus routes, last year’s version, or this year’s version? (Warning: both are PDF links to UGA’s site.)
Honestly, I find last year’s easier to read! By using one line for several routes, there’s less visual clutter; readability is further enhanced by including the route names, not just color codes, on the lines. I’ve never been a fan of using color as the sole distinguishing factor for things; once you get past a certain number of colors, things get hard to distinguish even for non-colorblind folks. Speaking of which, here’s GraphicConverter’s simulation of how the legend appears to a colorblind rider… oh, the ambiguity!
Bus usability or transit usability is practiced in reverse here in the USA. We are USA NUMBER ONE in making unusable transit, the obvious purpose is to drive transit users to cars.
Comment by anonymous — 19-Sep-2006 @ 11:27 am