Bragança Urban Transportation
Seeking legibility and visual attractiveness
April 2024
Proposal
Located in Portugal's northeast, Bragança is a city known for its historical significance, nestled amid scenic hills. The well-preserved medieval old town, including the imposing Bragança Castle, offers a glimpse into the city's past. Rich in cultural heritage, Bragança invites exploration of its museums, churches, and traditional festivals, showcasing the essence of Portugal's northeastern frontier.
The municipality provides two categories of public transportation: urban and suburban. STUB — Serviços de Transportes Urbanos de Bragança operates a total of 16 bus routes. Maps of these routes can be found on the municipality's website :
The municipality provides two categories of public transportation: urban and suburban. STUB — Serviços de Transportes Urbanos de Bragança operates a total of 16 bus routes. Maps of these routes can be found on the municipality's website :
It represents a relatively simple system of urban buses, with only three circular routes. However, there are several considerations regarding the current design that I would like to reveal:
1. The map offers a realistic depiction of the city's geography, effectively illustrating the correlations between lines, stops, and distances within a comprehensible layout arranged on a 45-degree grid.
2. However, there are several issues with this design. Primarily, typography and arrows appear misaligned with other graphic elements, likely due to a glitch during file export or printing. This discrepancy makes it challenging for readers to match bus stops with their corresponding names.
3. Typography poses another concern as all titles are angled at 45 degrees, compromising readability. While there is ample space on the map to display bus stop names horizontally, inclined text seems to be a deliberate part of the design system.
4. The distribution of bus stops is uneven, with some areas being densely packed while others have excessive empty space.
5. The style of bus stops and transfers lacks refinement, often appearing disproportionately large. The size of these elements occasionally exceeds the distances between them.
6. The angles of the lines would benefit from rounding to improve visual flow. Placing bus stops directly on angles interrupts the smooth continuity of the lines and is not an optimal design solution.
Considering these factors, let's proceed with the redesign of the map.
1. The map offers a realistic depiction of the city's geography, effectively illustrating the correlations between lines, stops, and distances within a comprehensible layout arranged on a 45-degree grid.
2. However, there are several issues with this design. Primarily, typography and arrows appear misaligned with other graphic elements, likely due to a glitch during file export or printing. This discrepancy makes it challenging for readers to match bus stops with their corresponding names.
3. Typography poses another concern as all titles are angled at 45 degrees, compromising readability. While there is ample space on the map to display bus stop names horizontally, inclined text seems to be a deliberate part of the design system.
4. The distribution of bus stops is uneven, with some areas being densely packed while others have excessive empty space.
5. The style of bus stops and transfers lacks refinement, often appearing disproportionately large. The size of these elements occasionally exceeds the distances between them.
6. The angles of the lines would benefit from rounding to improve visual flow. Placing bus stops directly on angles interrupts the smooth continuity of the lines and is not an optimal design solution.
Considering these factors, let's proceed with the redesign of the map.
At first, redesigning the map of Bragança's bus routes seemed relatively straightforward given the small number of lines involved. I swiftly established styles for the lines, bus stops, text, arrows, and icons, and promptly submitted my initial proposal to the Bragança town council. However, since they did not respond to my collaboration offer, I decided to proceed independently with the design.
After experimenting with various grid layouts, I ultimately found a solution by bending the southern segment of the green line and extending the north-western segment of the red line.