Back in 2019, Ken showcased an experimental alternative Tube Map based on a diamond motif (read the Transit Maps review here) that had mixed reactions from the community. He went away and absorbed that feedback, and – like a glutton for punishment – he’s back with not one, but two new maps. Like many people, Ken believes the current Tube Map is nearly at the end of its useful life and wants to explore new […]
Submitted by Kenneth, who says: Hi Cameron, Well, I finally went and made a map after all the years berating other maps. So I throw it to you for amusement/ridicule, etc. I’m deliberately not going to explain my design decisions in detail because I think it best to get feedback without colouring your judgement. I’ll be writing a blog on my thinking in the next week or two but I wanted to simplify and de-clutter […]
If you follow me on Twitter, then you know I’ve been working on this project for a while now, but I think the time has finally come to share the final product. (Click on the image to view it larger). Prints of this map are available in my online store, starting at just $38 plus shipping for a 24″ wide by 32″ print. Click here to get one! This map is an evolution of one […]
Here’s something of an increasing rarity – a London Underground map that I haven’t seen before. It’s the 1941 edition of the Hans Schleger map, printed in brown and blue ink only due to wartime austerity measures. I’ve written about the first edition of this map previously (April 2014, 3 stars) which was notable for its use of a blue airbrushed effect to highlight the central part of the map. Its removal certainly improves the legibility […]
London's Tube Map has long been regarded as an icon of informational design, pioneering the way for just about every other schematic transportation map in the world since its inception way back in 1931. But how much of that reputation is actually deserved these days?
There’s a new version of the London Tube Map out for 2016, and it looks like things are getting worse for our venerable friend. With every revision, it’s being asked to do more and more in the same amount of space – Underground, Overground, DLR, TfL Rail, that darn aerial tram, zone information and more – and it’s definitely beginning to groan under all that weight. A London blogger by the name of Diamond Geezer […]
Passport design has come a long way in the last few years, often being transformed from relatively dour official documents into elaborate and detailed expressions of national pride. The new UK passport is no exception, with the theme of “Creative United Kingdom” tying all the page designs together, celebrating over 500 years of artists, landmarks and architecture, the performing arts and iconic innovations – including this spread for the London Underground, prominently featuring the Tube Map. […]
Question: Several years ago I was in Christchurch, New Zealand, and a friend had a tea towel with a (fictitious) underground transit map of the city, in the style of the London Underground. I’ve searched long and hard for it, or its creators, to no avail. The best I turned up were a few pictures, which I collected on a Pinterest board. Have you encountered it, or ones like it? Answer: I hadn’t actually seen […]
It’s almost bizarre to think that an enormous cosmopolitan city like London doesn’t have 24-hour rail service. Yes, there’s an extensive night bus network, but the Tube is such an integral part of the city that it seems odd that it just stops after midnight. However, that’s about to change on Fridays and Saturdays from September 12, as shown on this new map from Transport for London. I’ve already seen some positive commentary on it […]
Depicting the complex networks of the human body in schematic form makes a lot of sense, and designers have been doing it for a while – as the first diagram above shows. Originally created by German medical illustrator Eduard Weber c. 1960, it’s one of a series of six schematic diagrams that depict the neurovascular systems of the human body. These diagrams are widely regarded as a iconic piece of medical design, and even newer […]
