Redesigning the Berlin Tram Digital Dashboards
Public transportation in Berlin is generally great; trains run often, usually on time. It would be much better, however, if signage was more consistent and easier to understand.
It’s highly challenging to design this type of signage for a city this big and international. Usage of words should be kept to a minimum. Icons, colors and fonts should be used carefully, and kept standardized.
This often isn’t the case, and I will try to address some of my main issues by focusing on one piece: the digital info panel found on trams and some subway trains.
The Digital Info Panels
Recently, many street and U-Bahn (underground) trains, run by the BVG company, carry LCD screens meant to give passengers at-a-glance information about their ride.
Take a good look at the picture above and tell me: what’s the next stop? Is it Schwedter Str. or Zionskirchplatz? Or Rosenthal Nord? Are you riding the M1 train to Rosenthal or the 12 to Zionskirchplatz?
I’ve had friends who were delayed hours on their first trip to the city asking those very same questions, not to mention strangers approaching me with big ❓ on their faces. So I decided to try my hand at redesigning it.
Identifying The Problem
Breaking it down, this is the information the panels are supposed to supply:
- What am I riding?
- What direction is it heading?
- What are the upcoming stations?
- Where can I transfer at each station?
- Has the stop button been pressed?
Let’s take a look at how these problems are addressed on the current panel:
1. You Are Here (purple)
The top area is meant to be your current train, however it’s a bit tucked away in the hierarchy. It uses an arrow to represent the train’s direction.
2. Next Stop (red)
The next stop is on the left, which makes sense since western languages read left-to-right. The font is pretty big, which should be enough for next stop. If only there weren’t other elements on the right…
3. Upcoming stops (blue)
This is where confusion sets in. Why is there an arrow (yellow) next to this and not “next stop?” There’s also a third difference here, the 3rd and 4th upcoming stations (U Eberswalder Str. and Milastr.) are a lighter gray. This adds complexity.
Another issue here is the transfer information: is it clear that the 12 below the next and 2nd upcoming stations are transfers? Also, why doesn’t Eberswalder Str. include the “U-Bahn” transfer icon? It seems to come down to a lack of space, but that shouldn’t be an excuse to omit important information.
4. Stop (green)
Top right, red and white. There’s no real problem with this element. But could it be better? Maybe a bigger element would be more readable from a distance.
Researching The System
Before jumping into redesign, I wanted to look at the existing style guides from our subway lines.
Two companies run our trains: BVG and the Deutsche Bahn. Each has their own style guide and color schemes, which alone may create some confusion to visitors.
Within BVG materials, there is plenty of inconsistency: typography varies wildly from station to station; colors are used in system maps, but nowhere else. Iconography (like triangular arrows used for train direction) appear in some places and not others.
The co-existing trains from very different eras only add to this complex style guide: modern trams have complex LED name signs; older ones have a simpler style. Even older ones have none of the above.
Designing a solution
Wireframe
In a few minutes, I threw together a wireframe of how this problem could be solved, and it wasn’t that complicated. This wire is missing a couple elements, but a path was immediately clear.
The big insight here was: why separate information that belongs together (next and upcoming stops)? Why not use a solution that’s used globally in transportation systems, including Berlin itself (on system maps)?
The wire was satisfactory as a basic proof-of-concept; information can still be big and readable, while grouping things together make them immediately more intuitive. No need for arrows!
Adding a Grid
I made the artboard more proportional to the actual sign, redistributed the elements on a grid and added the “tram” logo.
The missing stuff
Transfers are included and I re-adjust everything a bit. Then, to further highlight the different types of information, I include a gray panel on the “map” area.
Line map… and a surprise
Next, I wanted to make the stop sequence a bit nicer, so I checked out the official map from the BVG for some visual reference. I intended on colorizing the dots to match the color used on the system map.
However, I found another detail which intrigued me: there are two names for the street trains: Tram (Straßenbahn) and Metrotrain (?). Upon further research, I realized MetroTrams are connected to the U-Bahn system, and are the reason some lines have an “M” before the number.
It seems like an aleatory complication, but since it’s there, why not inform your passengers? Why the heck isn’t the Metrotrain logo used on the M train panels? So I replaced the logo:
The final version
In order to match the system map as closely as possible, I took a better look at it:
FF Transit, the official BVG typeface, costs a lot of €€€. Instead I used one I already had: Proxima Nova. Different, but similar.
Finally, I moved the gray panel to the left, since it contains less information.
Conclusion
This redesign took me a couple of hours, and thus has pretty rough edges. Specifically in terms of typography and margins, a lot could be done if this was a real project. But overall, I’m happy with the results.
Grouping elements together (that belong together) and using a grid improves visual hierarchy and makes things a lot clearer. Removing unnecessary icons and including pre-established elements from other BVG materials means everything’s more intuitive, without the need to include any extra language elements.
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