Month: March 2013

Transit Map Typefaces: Humanist Sans (Part 3 of 4)

March 8, 2013
Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Tutorials
Tags:

The third – and most diverse – category of sans serif typefaces is known as humanist sans. Compared to the grotesque and geometric categories, humanist sans typefaces almost calligraphic, with a natural variation in line weight and open characters that enhance legibility. With less “rules” to their construction, there’s a much greater variety of letter forms – meaning it’s easier to find a typeface that projects its own unique personality upon your map, which can […]

Transit Map Typefaces: Geometric Sans (Part 2 of 4)

March 6, 2013
comment 1
Filed Under:
Tutorials
Tags:

Geometric sans serif typefaces – as their name suggests – are based on geometrical shapes, especially circles for their “o”. Many of these typefaces have their roots in the 1920s and 1930s, and often reflect the Art Deco aesthetic of that period. Of the three sans serif categories, this is my least favourite for use on transit maps. Their rigid reliance on geometry makes them a little inflexible in use, and because many of the […]

Transit Map Typefaces: Grotesque Sans (Part 1 of 4)

March 6, 2013
Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Tutorials
Tags:

This series of posts is inspired by an anonymous poster, who requested some information on typography in transit map design. Almost without exception*, modern transit maps use sans serif typefaces for their labelling. Sans serif literally translates to English as “without [a] serif”, and denotes that the typeface does not have serifs: those little nubs at the top and bottom of characters that can help the eye follow large amounts of text. The practice of using […]

Photo: Vignelli NYC Subway Map – Street Grid

March 1, 2013
Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Miscellany
Tags:

An image from Massimo Vignelli’s recent talk at the New York Transit Museum about the development of his (in)famous diagram. The chance to hear Vignelli talk about his work really makes me wish that I lived in New York. Anyway, I find this image particularly interesting because it shows the underlying grid of streets and avenues that was used to place the route lines accurately. Although the map we see here appears to be the […]

Photo: (Back in) Time Tunnel

March 1, 2013
Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Historical Maps
Tags:

I love it when people find old transit maps still in situ at stations. This Northern Line map at Embankment dates from sometime prior to 1999 (the year that the Jubilee Line platforms at Charing Cross closed), but is still in place today – this photo was taken on February 21, 2013. Note also the beautiful 1914 green glazed tiles next to the map. Source: stavioni/Flickr