All posts filed under: Unofficial Maps

Unofficial Map: Boston Subway Time-Scale Map

August 15, 2012
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Peter Dunn from Stonebrown Design sent this map to me this morning for my thoughts, and it’s definitely worth looking at. You may recall that Peter is also responsible for this neat “subway map” of the Appalachian Trail, previously featured on Transit Maps. Visually, this map reminds me of this unofficial map of Amsterdam’s Metro – mainly because of the unusual radial design and the treatment of bodies of water. However, this map arguably puts […]

Historical Map: Sydney Buses CBD Map, 2000

August 13, 2012
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From the back of a Gregory’s Street Directory by the look of things, and very much in their house style. I’m not sure this map is actually helping things that much: Sydney’s labyrinthine network of streets is partially to blame, but the flow of arrows and lines could also be much clearer. The strange decision to make the background black for the second half of the suburb list (to the right of the map) has […]

Postcards from Paris – Métro Edition

July 26, 2012
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Here’s an interesting comparison of three different postcards of the Paris Métro system – one of which uses the official RATP artwork, and two more which definitely don’t. All three are of similar vintage (from at least 2007, as they all show the southern end of Line 14 at Olympiades station, which opened in that year). So they’re all basically showing the same thing, but take different approaches towards it. The first postcard uses the […]

Unofficial Map: A Series of Twin Tubes – A Track Diagram of London

July 21, 2012
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After my previous post about this old track layout diagram from Berlin, reader Rolando Peñate brought this awesome project to my attention – a beautiful track layout diagram of the London Underground, DLR and Overground, complete with platform layouts, disused platforms, yards and sidings. What’s really amazing about this diagram, however, is that its creator, Andrew Godwin, has essentially automated its production. He explains on his website: The map is created with an automated tool […]

Unofficial Map: Circular Map of Oslo’s T-Bane System by Francisco Dans

July 20, 2012
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We’ve already covered the official Oslo T-Bane map, so it’s interesting to have a look at a completely different take on it; one that takes the “Circle Line” concept to its logical extreme. This piece is the work of Francisco Dans, a design student in London. Have we been there? No. What we like: Interesting experiment using arcs and circles, while still maintaining some level of relative placement. What we don’t like: Adobe Illustrator is […]

Unofficial Maps: Bus Routes of Greater Israel/Palestine

July 18, 2012
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Here’s a pair of maps that transcend my normal method of reviewing maps and demand a more serious approach, as well as a commentary on the power of design to shape and influence our thoughts. These two maps show exactly the same thing – bus services out of Jerusalem and into Palestine. The route lines are identical on each map. The first map presents the services from an Israeli perspective, while the second map presents […]

Unofficial Map: Transportation of Walt Disney World Resort, Florida, 2012

July 16, 2012
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Here’s a seriously impressive piece of work by Arthur de Wolf that I came across while trawling Flickr. This map shows transportation options at the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida – monorail, bus, water transportation, parking lot trams, even walking routes between transportation hubs. Walt Disney World Resort is the size of a small city and has a transportation system that puts many of them to shame. Bringing order and sense to this system […]

Unofficial Map: Amtrak Passenger Rail Routes, 2010

July 11, 2012
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Related to the last post about the Amtrak Super High-Speed Northeast Corridor, here’s a personal project of mine from 2010 showing all of Amtrak’s train routes in the style of a subway map. Amtrak’s own map doesn’t break out the actual routes in any way, nor does it show all stations due to geographic limitations, which makes journey planning quite difficult in my opinion. The two things my map really highlight are the incredible dominance […]

Unofficial Map: Istanbul Rapid Transit by Kerim Bayer

June 13, 2012
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One of the things I love about running this blog is when amateur map designers send me their work for review. The quality of these maps is often amazing, and this one of Istanbul’s rapid transit network by Istanbul native Kerim Bayer is a fantastic example. Design- and quality-wise, it far surpasses the official map (shown above for comparative purposes), which is a bit of a shambles: weird angles, muddy colours, poorly drawn and a […]

Unofficial Map: St. Petersburg Metro, Russia

May 15, 2012
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I came across this map while browsing Flickr last night, and was totally blown away by it. This map of St. Petersburg’s Metro system is simply gorgeous and is far, far better than the current official map. Definitely one of my favourite maps of the year so far. Have we been there? No. What we like: So many things! The lovely pattern used for the waterways, the stylish icons for points of interest, the inclusion […]