MRM User feedback

Mumbai Rail map testing with the commuters at the railway stations

OVERVIEW
This booklet was designed in 2013 to document the feedback of rail commuters with respect to the design of the Mumbai Rail Map. (MRM). It was an outcome of a class assignment of two students, Jaiki and Snehal from IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay
KEYWORDS
Identity design, visual communication, visual culture 
MRM User Feedback booklet
Our study found that with a little training (about search based on alphabetical order and grid), people’s ability to comprehend and use the MRM improved drastically. Mumbai Rail Map is designed as a YAH (you are here) map as well as a portable print map. Maps are excellent in clarifying the mental model* of a novice commuter who is anxious about his travel. Once the mental model is clarified the use of a map reduces unless a new information-need arises**. Therefore maps are products of infrequent use. Whenever a query arises, map should provide the answer. If the map is not easy to use then people might prefer to ask someone.

Unless everybody (especially children) is taught to read maps at a national level, the anxiety towards map-reading and accessing information will persist.
*A mental model is an explanation of someone’s thought process about how something works in the real world.
(Source: Wikipedia)

**A frequent traveller on the Central Line told us that one weekend he had to travel on Harbour Line to attend a function. We had given him a portable MRM Ver.4. He referred to the MRM because he was not aware of that particular station on the Harbour Line. So the statement, “frequent travellers will not need to refer to a map” is not true. Information should be handy whenever need arises.

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UPDATED: 13 APRIL 2020
AUTHOR
Mandar Rane
Prof. Mandar Rane
Communication Design
Faculty IDC, IIT Bombay
CREDITS 
MRM Team
Details of the BOOKLET
Author: Mandar Rane
Binding: Center Pinning, Paperback, 16 pages, full colour
Publisher: mrane publications
Language: English