How Design Can Help Build a 'Transit Culture'

Earlier this month the transit agency serving metropolitan Rochester, New York, announced a million-dollar "rebranding" effort. That means everything from a new logo to new uniforms — all aimed at changing the public perception "that buses are only for people who have no other option," the Democrat and Chronicle reports. The next brand will try to surround Rochester transit with a sense of comfort and ease.

Rochester isn't alone in its desire for a transit brand. Jeff Doble, director of transportation design for the Vancouver office of architecture firm Perkins+Will, says system branding is becoming "more and more prominent and important to cities." From the architectural design of stations to the wayfinding style of signage and maps, branding can help cities that are "trying to build a transit culture."