Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT)
Maps / Schedules / Calendars
I’ve held the position of Graphic Designer at the Detroit Department of Transportation (DDOT) in the Scheduling and Service Development division since 2019.
DDOT is the largest public transit provider in Michigan. It serves the city of Detroit, surrounding suburbs, and neighboring cities, including Highland Park and Hamtramck. DDOT serves an average of 85,000 riders daily.
Bus Schedules | System Map | Bus Stop Signs | Outreach | Data Analysis
DDOT Bus Schedules
The DDOT Bus Schedule redesign project began with a month of intense research and development that included looking at other cities’ bus schedules, and learning about best practices in public transit and map design. This was followed by the development of all of the components of the bus schedule (cover, route map, timetables and informational modules.) I developed a few concepts and took them out into the field to ask our riders, drivers and other DDOT employees for feedback, and after incorporating that and refining the design we ended up with the schedule we’re using today.
My goal for this project was to produce bus schedules and maps for all 37 DDOT routes that were straightforward, easy to use and had a strong, reassuring graphic identity. The reception so far has been overwhelmingly positive, and we’re eager to continue to improve the design as we get more feedback from riders. Some modifications in the future printings could be showing connecting routes or expanding the types of landmarks we highlight.
Old schedule cover vs Redesigned schedule cover
The goal was to show the route in relation to the city, something that didn’t exist in the previous covers.
Route Maps
The new route maps were based on street maps, once again to give greater context. They also showed connections to our major routes.
Timetables
The new timetable eliminated the numbered stops, which people found confusing at times and added a destination to the directional tags at the top for greater clarity.
Schedule Modules
I designed information modules that served as an introduction to some of the new design elements as well as providing practical information for our riders.
