Visual Communication students redesign the city’s bus signs

Last spring, fourteen students in the Visual Communication master’s program studied bus stops and shuttle routes. They photographed signs, timed how long they took to read, and asked passengers what information was missing.

Their redesign uses high-contrast colors, larger stop names, readable departure times, and a simple map of the next five stops. The type comes from research on public signs, tested on screens and in bright desert sun.

The fictional local transit partner will test the new signs along a SunTran route this fall. Passengers can leave feedback with a code on each sign; if the pilot works, the design may be adapted for other local routes.