All posts filed under: Tutorials

Submission – Tutorial: Changing the Background Colour of a Text Box

February 12, 2014
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Graphic Fix: Change Background Color of Text Box in Illustrator Problem: My Kentucky Ave label overlaps with objects below it, resulting in a cluttered appearance. Turns out, there is a super easy fix for something like this! Create the Area Text (text box). Select the Area Text with the Direct Selection Tool (white arrow).  In the Appearance panel select desired background fill color and adjust Transparency to your heart’s content.  Your labels should now look […]

Tutorial: Using Illustrator or Photoshop to Check Your Design for Colour-Blind Accessibility

January 21, 2014
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Here’s a simple little trick that works in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop CS4 and above: You can quickly check your artwork to see how it might appear for a colour-blind user by simply going to the View menu > Proof Setup, then choosing one of the two colour-blind profiles at the bottom of the list. Then select View > Proof Colors (Cmd/Ctrl-Y in Photoshop). As you can see from the GIF above, the results can be […]

Breaking News! Illustrator CC’s “Live Corners” Are AMAZING!

January 17, 2014
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Yesterday, Adobe released updates to many of their Creative Cloud applications, including Illustrator (which is now at version 17.1, if you can believe it!).For me, the absolute standout feature is “Live Corners”, which is a game changer for the design and production of transit maps. Gone are the inconsistent and unpredictable results produced by the “Round Corners” effect, and my trusty but time-consuming workaround – using a set of master curves and manually cutting-and-pasting them into […]

Tutorial: Aligning and Spacing Elements Using “Invisible” Artwork

January 7, 2014
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A pretty simple trick this week, but one that I use all the time. If you need elements to be aligned precisely to another object, and always an exact distance away from that object, simply use a rectangle with no fill and no stroke (an “invisible” object) to define the required alignment and spacing. It won’t be visible in your final artwork, but can be seen in Illustrator’s Outline view for precise adjustment as required. […]

Tutorial: Harnessing the Power of Illustrator’s “Symbols” Feature in Transit Map Design

December 31, 2013
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Imagine this scenario: you’ve been working for months on a complex transit map – lots of interchanges and routes – for a big-city transit agency and you’re presenting it to their management team for approval. They love it, except they’d like the circular interchange markers you’ve used to be square with rounded edges instead. And they’d like to see the revised version in an hour. If you’ve used standard Illustrator artwork for each of your […]

Tutorial: Creating Multiple Parallel Route Lines using Art Brushes

December 24, 2013
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Last week’s tip about using the Offset Path command in Illustrator to create multiple parallel paths was very well received, but reader Leah left a comment saying that she finds using Art Brushes quicker and easier. If nothing else, it’s good to be reminded that there are always different ways to achieve the same result!  Setting up an Art Brush for what we want to do is actually pretty simple. Simply create a short section […]

Design Resource: Transport for London’s “Line Diagram Standards” Guide

December 17, 2013
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Definitely worth a look to see how a major transit agency puts together a comprehensive guide to assembling consistently designed maps. The guide deals with horizontal in-car strip maps and the vertical line maps seen on platforms, but many of the principles still hold true for the design of a full transit map. Of particular interest is the relationship between the x-height of Johnston Sans and the thickness of the route lines (they’re the same). […]

Tutorial: Creating Multiple Parallel Route Lines

December 17, 2013
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Today’s tutorial comes from an anonymous question that I received in my inbox, which asked: I design a bus transit map using a street layer. But how can i align correctly multiple lines on a street without overlap? This is a great question. You’d be amazed how often I see people attempting to draw multiple parallel route lines manually, which is absolutely the most difficult way of doing things. You might be able to get away with it on […]

Tutorial: Station Labels Using the “Core Type Area” – Part 4: Intersecting Route Lines

December 10, 2013
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Here’s the last of my tutorials regarding station label placement – what to do when route lines intersect each other. There are three standard ways that orthogonal route lines can cross each other, each illustrated below. Horizontal and Vertical Lines: The simplest intersection to deal with. Simply keep the same distance from the side and top/bottom of your label for consistent results. Vertical Line Intersecting an Angled Line (or a Horizontal Line/Angled Line): This one’s […]

Tutorial: Station Labels Using the “Core Type Area” – Part 3: Angled Labels

December 3, 2013
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While it’s true that I don’t really like the use of station labels that are angled – being very much in the Erik Spiekermann camp that believes horizontal labels aid comprehension and create a cleaner looking map – I do realise that there are times when their use is necessary. If you do use angled labels, then I strongly advise that you keep the number of angles used to the absolute minimum required – type […]