Month: September 2017

Historical Map: Concept for Helsinki Metro Diagram, c. 1974

September 27, 2017
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Here’s something interesting – an early concept diagram for the Helsinki Metro that shows two lines instead of the eventual one (plus branch). It appears in the 1974 edition of Graphis Diagrams, a collection of the best informational design from around the world at the time (generally within the last year).  Stylistically, it’s almost identical to the diagram that was actually used when the Metro finally opened in 1982… it just has a whole extra […]

Submission – Official Map: Bus Network Map, Dunedin, New Zealand

September 26, 2017
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Submitted by Peter, who says: They just went through a redesign and man this map is just useless. I cannot begin to imagine what they were thinking with this design :/ Transit Maps says: It’s really hard to argue with Peter’s succinct summary of this map: it’s really pretty dire, especially in the context of a bus network with new and supposedly improved routes which might need explaining. The long axis of routes running from […]

“Between Stations” by Nicholas Rougeux

September 24, 2017
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We’ve featured plenty of Nick’s work on Transit Maps before – he has an uncanny knack of taking something familiar and mundane and looking at it from a completely new perspective.  His new project, “Between Stations” is no exception, as he literally pulls apart subway systems from around the world and rearranges them into attractive circular forms. No scaling or rotation of the line segments is performed, they’re just rearranged to fill the circle. What’s really interesting […]

Historical Map: Subway-Surface Lines, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1978

September 22, 2017
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Here’s a great late-1970s diagram that I haven’t seen before of Philadelphia’s subway-surface trolley lines. From the looks of things, this might well have been a strip map within the trolley cars themselves. The subway-surface lines are given full prominence here, with the rest of Philly’s rapid transit rail system represented by very thin route lines mainly confined to the right third of the map. The five trolley routes are treated very diagrammatically, each following […]

Submission – Official Map: Boston MBTA Commuter Rail Zones Map

September 20, 2017
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Submitted by alr2659, who says: I found this map of the MBTA commuter rail zones in the Central Square T station on the red line in Cambridge. Strangely, this station does not have any commuter rail service, so I’m not sure why this was there at all. I guess I’ll start with the obvious part: those colors are pretty hideous, and the mud-brown color used for zone 1A does a really good job making it […]

Historical Map: British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) “Transit Map” Newspaper Ad, 1947

September 20, 2017
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Submitted by Jack, who says: This is an ad for British Overseas Airways Corporation in the old Australian newspaper The Bulletin, September 17, 1947. I found it while digitizing the paper at work! Transit Maps says: This is a glorious find, and one that @airlinemaps would certainly be very interested in. Compositionally, the diagram is very interesting, with a dead straight line linking Britain to the Antipodes (somewhat mitigating the fact that the line represents […]

New Project: The United States of Highway Shields

September 14, 2017
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Here’s a new “map” that I’ve designed – a cartogram of State Route or State Highway shields for each U.S. state, plus the District of Columbia. Each shield is numbered in the order that each state joined the Union, so Delaware is “1″, Pennsylvania is “2″ and so on… all the way up to D.C, which is cheekily represented with a “51?”, referencing the ongoing statehood debate there. I originally put this together as a quick Twitter post, as […]

Submission – New Official Map: TriMet System Map, Portland, Oregon, 2017

September 13, 2017
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Sent my way by Jonathan, a designer at TriMet, who has this to say: We just launched a couple new and improved maps: TriMet System and City Center. This was a long overdue update that brings those maps in line with the Rail System map that we’ve had for a few years. A few highlights: Bus lines, rail lines and streets have standardized angles, but still adhere (mostly) to geography Colors and symbols are standardized […]

Advertisement: Alzheimer’s Association “Subway Map”

September 11, 2017
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Spotted this in Cambridge aboard the MBTA Red Line. As a frequent reader of your blog, I certainly appreciated it and I thought you might as well! Transit Maps says: I feel like there’s a good idea somewhere in this ad, but the execution is a little flat. Shouldn’t “finding help” get the route back on track? The two “warning sign” stations are fine, but using “In Transit” for both of the stations before that is […]

Submission – Official Map: Südbadenbus Network Map, Germany

September 5, 2017
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Submitted by Michael, who says: I came across this map of Südbadenbus (which is a subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn), that operates a vast network of regional buses in the state of Baden-Württemberg. It seems that the network is mainly centered around the towns of the region, so I really can’t fathom why all these local networks had to be put on one monstrous map. Transit Maps says: Well, this is pretty terrible. A vast expanse of […]