Legible Prague (Čitelná Praha) project is creating a unified information and navigation system for the city's public spaces and surrounding areas. The goal is to create an inclusive solution for all user groups, increasing their informational certainty and enabling more even movement of people in public spaces. Together with Bohemia design & research, we undertook prototype testing at Prague's Palmovka metro station to determine if the new graphic design of the wayfinding system was understandable to the public.
What We Achieved Together
We designed a research process for testing the wayfinding system with users directly in the field.
Thanks to a large recruitment campaign, we reached respondents with diverse characteristics.
We formulated recommendations to increase usability for all user groups.
The Legible Prague Project Unifies Prague's Wayfinding System
Prague has long struggled with an inadequate wayfinding system, where various types of signage exist throughout the city, lacking aesthetic or content consistency. Signage is also often lost in the visual clutter of advertising.
The goal of the Legible Prague project is to unify these systems for public transport and public spaces into a comprehensive whole, which will support the informational certainty of its users, sustainable mobility, and the inclusivity of public space. The new Prague wayfinding system took shape in 2022, when the design of a Czech team, composed of the graphic studio Side2, the A69 architects studio, the Superior Type typography studio, and designer Dominika Potužáková, was successful in an international competition.
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To verify user-friendliness and usability, the next step was to conduct research with real users. For this purpose, the first prototypes of the new information system were implemented at Prague's Palmovka metro station.
Let's Research
On the project, we collaborated with designer and user research expert Dominika Potužáková (Bohemia design & research). Together, we faced the challenge of testing the new wayfinding system. It was necessary to determine how the placement of new signage and its content reflects user needs. We decided to verify this in practice and thoroughly examine user behavior during navigation and orientation in Prague's public transport system, specifically in the aforementioned area of Palmovka metro station.
To achieve our goals, we combined two methods:
- accompanied journeys with respondents;
- field observations with targeted questioning.
Extensive Respondent Recruitment Campaign
Before implementation, it was necessary to fulfill the commitment to inclusivity and gain a deeper understanding of the defined criteria, including various health limitations. To this end, we launched an intensive recruitment campaign on social networks and contacted organizations representing individuals with various types of disabilities and seniors. As a result, we were able to assemble a sample of respondents with diverse socio-demographic characteristics, representing the perspectives of Czechs and foreigners, people familiar and unfamiliar with public transport, and people with varying degrees of visual, motor, and cognitive impairments.
Directly with Users in the Field
During accompanied visits, we conducted a structured user journey with these respondents through the metro station in both directions (towards the platform and to the surface) and examined their interactions with the elements of the new navigation system in detail. We supplemented the monitored passage with observations of passersby using the metro in real situations and inquired about the reasons for spontaneous behavior, mainly in the context of interaction with the prototypes of the proposed system. Altogether, we obtained feedback from nearly one hundred respondents.
Dark is Good: Research Conclusions
We subjected the research findings to thorough analysis, focusing on the target criteria. We defined positive and negative findings from a user perspective. We supplemented the resulting report with extensive recommendations to improve the user experience. These are the main ones:
- The new version of the signs with a dark background ensures high contrast with graphic elements in white and yellow (text, colors, icons). For users, the mentioned elements were clearly visible and easily readable, including respondents with varying degrees of visual impairment.
- Users reported poorer readability of elements located in the upper parts of the signs, where reflections from the chosen lighting fell. To ensure visibility and readability, we recommended focusing on the selection of more suitable lighting for individual signs.
- The clustering and overlapping of individual elements made orientation difficult for users. Poorer readability was also recorded for gray elements, which disappeared against the dark background. To improve readability and overall orientation, we recommended prioritizing the displayed information and displaying gray elements in a more contrasting color.
- Users lacked information on the platform to help them quickly decide which track to take. Comprehensive information about stations related to a given direction was provided by a sign in the second half of the platform ("thermometer"). For more efficient orientation, we recommended considering the placement of simplified information in earlier locations.
The Palmovka Research is Just the Beginning
The results of our research led to adjustments in the proposed wayfinding system, which is being further implemented in other pilot locations. Legible Prague is being created through gradual iteration, an integral part of which is verification directly with the people for whom it is designed. Therefore, further research is planned.
Research photos: Sandra Sedlecká
