Design for inclusion in maps design, for optimizing data usability and readability. The case study of two Healthy Maps

This paper describes how the integration of cognitive and organizational information design skills can support the design of inclusive maps. The contribution reports the results of “Quartieri Sani HUB”, a research project, which has among its outputs the definition of two health maps, referring to two neighborhoods used as case study. For the map design a critical review of the literature on the tools of the mentioned disciplines, analysis of best practices and verification on the design level was conducted.“Quartieri Sani HUB” addresses the topic of healthy cities, declining it at neighborhood scale, and the relationship between the built environment and health to promote healthy lifestyles and develop inclusive contexts. The overall objective of the project concerns the definition of design scenarios and strategic factors aimed at improving the physical environmental conditions of public space through the "research-action" methodological approach on two representative case studies of the metropolitan city of Florence as the ground for research and experimentation. In the analysis phase, within the two reference case studies, the potential and opportunities offered by the built environment in producing health were focused on. The emerged results supported the development of an information tool, indicating how to enjoy the neighborhood and related healthy services. Through a systemic and transcalar vision, therefore, the research team identified the "health map" as a communicative artifact capable of producing a knowledge and awareness-raising impact on the urban areas and their citizens, with regards to the project issues. For the development of the health maps design, as a tool aimed at citizens for orientation and choice of usable healthy routes, places and activities within the reference case study, the goal was to optimize the understanding, usability and readability of the data. Thus, the research activity was aimed at making the data on the map clear, readable, accessible and usable by a broad target audience. Thus, the following research questions emerged: i) what are the design components of maps, which lead to effective improvement in information comprehension and reduce user response time during interaction; ii) what are the corresponding design principles applicable to map design; iii) what are the main tools for information selection and encoding in the development of design outputs, iv) how does the use of color impact inclusive readability. The research team has investigated the relationships between information design and map design, produced the prerequisites for the theoretical and design testing of the map, created the conditions for the testing phase with expert users through an interdisciplinary workshop, and is creating the conditions for the usability testing phase with citizens in the field. The article, therefore, describes the activities and the role that design has played on the topic in an interdisciplinary research context, through the following development phases: i) critical literature review, ii) evaluation of best practices, iii) preliminary development of health maps; iv) iteration of the prototyping phase. What emerges is the ability of the design discipline to enrich the user experience, reporting a collaborative research experience between different disciplines of representation and communication and colour design, and the preliminary outputs of the health maps design.