Story Eight, “Ride KC”, For The “Willoughby Design Lookbook”, Cooper Hewitt National Design Awards
Date
Credits
- Willoughby Design 11 Agency
- Ann Willoughby 12 Design Director
- Nicole Satterwhite 9 Design Director
- Zack Shubkagel 3 Design Director
- Megan Stephens 4 Design Director
- Nate Hardin Designer
- Lisa Correau Copywriter
Format
- Poster 2746
- Interior 6
- Advertising 697
- Information Graphics 87
- Environmental Graphics 13
- Visual Identity 45
Techniques
- digital 269
- photography 166
- illustration 373
Dimensions
Printed Pages
Links
KCATA RIDE KC
Love me, love my car. Public transportation is the heart and soul of a vibrant community. Still, it’s not easy to change public attitudes and behavior in cities with sprawling suburbs and a 75-year-old love affair with cars. Beginning in 2003, Willoughby worked closely with the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority (KCATA) to design a more inviting and accessible unified public transportation system.
Willoughby's first task was to figure out how to entice citizens and multiple skeptical stakeholders to change their perception of public transportation in the greater KC metropolitan area. This was not an easy design challenge. The first project was the Metro Area Express (MAX), Kansas City’s first rapid-transit bus service. Max was a high-profile integrated campaign to introduce and showcase an entirely new modern rapid transit experience. Willoughby designed the brand name, logo, bus shelter and station graphics, route maps, and bus interiors for the MAX routes. Since Max's debut, ridership has more than doubled, and the U.S. Department of Transportation has recognized MAX as a model and best practice for rapid bus service across the country. What started as a design project in 2003 turned into a two-decade collaboration with KCATA and HNTB architects.
With the success of Max, Willoughby collaborated on Ride KC, which combined five regional transit providers with five regional services: Buses, Max, Ride KC Freedom, Micro-Transit, Park and Ride, and the most visible, KC Streetcar. Again, Willoughby designed the entire physical and digital branding systems. KC Streetcar has been a massive success, driving over $4 billion in local development and fueling a 44% increase in downtown residential population.