Submitted by Kara, who says:

I know you’ve reflected less than favorably in the past on maps done “in the style of” the London Tube map, but here’s a piece I made redrawing Chicago’s CTA routes in the style of the current edition of London’s iconic map, complete with a hybrid TFL/CTA logo. I lovingly refer to the result as “TF-‘el’.”

The style is not transcribed perfectly, I’m aware – perhaps, in light of the most recent edition, I should include all the Metra routes in order to add further clutter – but I intended this more as a fun exercise rather than an attempt to copy the style perfectly. But I’d still love to hear what you think about this one! Thanks again for everything you do!

Transit Maps says:

“Tf-el”… I like that name! And the hybrid logo is pretty clever too.

This definitely looks like fun, Kara! Of all the U.S. rail rapid transit maps, I think that Chicago is one of the most suited to be converted to a tube-style map. The already grid-like nature of the network suits the rectilinear style of London’s famed diagram, and the Loop is a great place to practice the principles of expanding the central part of the map for clarity. 

It’s in the Loop that you have run into a bit of a problem, though, as your labels for a few stations cross over the route lines. Amazingly, this never occurs on the real Tube Map, so you might want to look at how you can tweak and tease the route lines into position so this doesn’t happen.

The other problem—as you’re no doubt aware—is the dichotomy between Beck’s principle of evenly spacing stations as much as possible, and the need for stations to properly align with the underlying street grid. You’ve chosen the former, which means that all your Pulaskis, Ciceros, Kedzies, etc. don’t line up properly with each other. The underlying tube map-style grid only draws attention to this anomaly, which I feel most native Chicagoans would dislike as the grid is such a fundamental part of the city.

A minor fix: Cottage Grove is jammed up tight to the right edge of the map when there’s plenty of room to the left… I’d just move everything left until there’s an even margin to the left and right.

I’d certainly be interested in seeing another version where you’ve pushed the Tube Map style as far as you can. For me, that’s the fun and challenge of making an “in the style of” map: using the established design rules from another network’s map and applying them rigidly to a different network. What works? What doesn’t? What compromises do you have to make to end up with an effective map? Use it as a learning tool, not just a bit of fun, and your understanding of designing transit maps grows.