Submitted by Arthur, who says:
I’ve been a fan of your website for some time and have dabbled in creating some transit maps of Philadelphia, utilizing many of your tips. The latest is a Vignelli inspired map based on A. Merritt Taylor’s plan for future rapid transit in Philadelphia. The plan is from 1913 and if executed would have left Philadelphia a very different place.
[This 1913 plan was featured on Transit Maps in October 2014 – Cam]
Transit Maps says:
A handsome interpretation of this classic rapid transit plan from Arthur, executed in an equally classic style. The layout looks great, but I feel like the labelling could be a little larger: there’s generally plenty of room. Getting all of the labels just a little further away from the route lines would be good as well. Because of the small labelling, the connecting services icons – which neatly, represent the old Reading, Penn, and B&O railroads – are small and indistinct as well.
I do think that the route designation bullets that Arthur uses at the base of the maps should be integrated into the map itself as well, otherwise they’re not really much use to people unfamiliar with the system. Verbally, the route names are also a bit of a mouthful: “Oh, you need to catch the sixty-nine-bee-el to get to where you’re going” just isn’t as easy as “the five” or “the A”.
On a technical side, there’s a couple of places where I can see little gaps along the route lines when they go around corners: the paths either need to be joined, or – if they’re separate elements sitting on top to cross over other lines – they need to have round end caps applied to disguise the gap (Cam’s sneaky Illustrator tip #253).
Our rating: A fine depiction of a 100-year-old transit plan. Three-and-a-half stars.