Readability Toolbox

How to brand your cycle highway?

In order to improve the readability of your cycle highway, you must first establish a strong identity (f.i. c-numbers, code-logo strategy, central brand colour,...). This brand for your cycle highway (network) can be integrated in the wayfinding measures and is also relevant in the early planning phase. All the communication touchpoints need to be in line with the central brand you want to establish and promote on the mobility market.

CHIPS recommends to opt for a future-proof network-identity on the highest scale possible. This means the use of a cycle highway code (letter + number combination, preferably a C-number) and one central brand color. Explore the identity playlist related to branding to find more examples and strategies around identity and scales of branding. In other playlists you can explore different ways in which your brand can be integrated in wayfinding tools and other touchpoints to improve the exposure of your brand towards potential users.

How to improve wayfinding?

Once you establised a clear identity and brand for your cycle highway network, you can integrate it in different tools to improve wayfinding for new users of the cycle highway. Explore the different playlists around the most typical wayfinding challenges that need to be solved.

CHIPS recommends to start first with defining a clear A to B connection with an easy explainable starting and ending point (preferably an important railway station, a multimodal hub or antother cycle highway).

Explore the tools to make these main entrances more readable and find out different solutions to deal with a change of direction, a crossing, a confusion points etc. along the connection. The findability of your cycle highway can also be improved by integrating the cycle highway brand or code in other touchpoints like a network-map, a website, popular routeplanning devices etc. Explore examples in the playlist digital wayfinding.

How to enhance exposure?

In order to bring new (potential) users in touch with your mobility product you also need to integrate the cycle highway brand in diverse digital and non-digital touchpoints. Physical touchpoints (f.i. a landmark, a cycling bridge or a service station) help to disclose your mobility product to people coincidentally passing by. But touchpoints can also be more social (f.i. word of mouth) or online (f.i. "#C3", digital maps or popular multi-modal routeplanning device like Google Maps.)

If you apply the CHIPS recommended identity-principles (C-numbers, code-logo strategy, one brand colour,...), you increase the possibilities of integration and help to establish economies of scale that will improve the general exposure (brand awareness) around cycle highways.