Month: January 2013

Official Map: ART Bus System, Asheville, North Carolina, 2013

January 18, 2013
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Submitted by Matthew Frazier, who says: This is the new system map for ART, or Asheville Redefines Transit (a rather interesting name for a transit agency), from Asheville, North Carolina. I think this is a nice format for bus maps, balancing the stronger need for geographical accuracy with the simplicity of traditional rail maps. (Though I do find it amusing that the “South” route S2 ends further north than it begins.) Transit Maps says: I think […]

Happy Birthday, Johnston and the London Underground

January 18, 2013
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Via typeworship: This week London sees the 150th anniversary of the London Underground. To commemorate the occasion a stream locomotive used in the 19th century made a journey through the modern tunnels of the Metropolitan line. See more on the BBC It is also 100 years since its iconic typeface Johnston Sans was released as the the ‘Underground’ typeface. Dan Rhatigan, type director at Monotype and forthcoming interviewee of 8 Faces talks about Edward Johnston and the typeface here.   The structured, based on a calligraphic nib held […]

All About the Guerrilla Moscow Metro Map – in English!

January 18, 2013
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My previous post about the “map bombing” of the Moscow Metro has had a lot of interest, so I thought I’d pass on the fact that the original partizaning.org article about it has been translated properly into English on their site. Well worth a read. And as a bonus, you can download your own PDF of the map, or the Illustrator .ai file and fonts required to edit it yourself.

Reader Question: What software do you use to make these? Are there any must-have tutorials that helped you learn the techniques used to produce these?

January 17, 2013
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I use Adobe Illustrator exclusively when working on my maps. As a graphic designer, it’s the tool that I’m most used to and that’s most suited to the task at hand. Any vector-based illustration application would be fine, though. Lots of people who want to get into map making without the cost of an Adobe app swear by Inkscape, although I’ve never used it personally. As for tutorials, I’ve pretty much learned all I know […]

Submission – Official Map: Des Moines DART Bus System, 2013

January 17, 2013
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Submitted by “ZMapper”, who included a link to the full map on the official DART website. Have we been there? No. What we like: At first glance, this looks like a nice, clean, modern-looking system map – a breath of fresh air that stands out from the usual geographically-based “road map” bus maps. However, there are some serious usability issus that detract from the light and airy look, which I’ll discuss below. I do like […]

Unofficial Map: Partizaning.org “Guerrilla” Moscow Metro Map

January 12, 2013
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Last year, the Moscow Metro introduced a completely new official map, which featured 30-degree angles. Put simply, it went down like a lead balloon (link in Russian), forcing the authorities to hastily organise a competition for another brand new design. However, some people decided they didn’t want to enter what’s essentially a no-spec design “contest” (there’s no payment for the winner, just thanks for a job well done) and set about designing their own map independently… […]

Historical Map: Railways of London, showing the Metropolitan and District Lines, 1889

January 10, 2013
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One last post for the Tube’s 150th birthday (it’s still the 9th of January here on the West Coast of the United States!). This is the oldest map I can find that shows what would later be known as the London Underground: an 1889 map of London’s railways – still some 26 years after the first part of the Metropolitan Line opened. Main line routes are shown in red and the newfangled “underground lines” are […]

Google Doodle Celebrates the London Tube’s 150th Birthday!

January 9, 2013
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The Metropolitan Line – first part of what was to become today’s London Underground – was opened on January 9, 1863 between Paddington and Farringdon Street via Kings Cross. See my other posts about the London Underground here. Source: google.co.uk home page