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What we got wrong on City Loop

Three things we would do differently, and the one we got right.

Bintu, Designer1 min read · February 19, 2026
A yellow poda-poda minibus painted ALL ABOARD, with luggage on the roof

City Loop maps every poda-poda route in Freetown. We were proud of it, and we still got three things wrong.

We designed the map before we rode the routes. We used stop names nobody uses. And we assumed people wanted directions, when what they wanted was to know which bus was coming. The one thing we got right: we fixed all three in a week because we kept the code simple.

Keep riding

Process2 min Why we design for the street first If a sign works at ten metres in Freetown traffic, it works on a phone in Toronto. The reverse is never true. Kadi · Sep 2026 Process1 min The one-week stall test Before we name anything, we stand where it gets sold and listen. Fatts · Aug 2026 Craft1 min Five paints, no photos How a limit became the studio’s look, and why we kept it. Sia · Jul 2026