After 2003’s Metro Maps of the World and 2015’s Transit Maps of the World (our review here), this is Mark Ovenden’s third offering on the subject of global transit maps and diagrams. The question to be asked, then, is simply – is a new book on the same subject worth it?
In a word: yes.
Simply because of the nature of the subject, there will always be new content to add – maps get updated or changed, new rail networks come on line, and so forth. So while there’s some historical maps in this edition that have been seen before in the previous books, there’s also a few “scoops” – London’s Autumn 2024 Tube Map with the new multi-coloured Overground lines appears here for the first time, and there’s an absolutely gorgeous frequent transit map for Auckland that’s making its print debut as well. There’s also quite a few maps that I’ve never seen before, which is becoming an increasingly rare thing these days!
Instead of trying to cover every transit map in the world – a claim the previous book made and didn’t quite live up to – Mark here sticks to a smaller sample of cities and maps that demonstrate the ideals of “iconic” design. This is perhaps an overused term in transit map design, but if we take it as meaning a map or diagram that is emblematic of the city it represents (like Washington, DC or Montreal, perhaps), or has become a part of the social fabric of that city (like London’s Tube Map undeniably has), then I think he’s made a pretty good selection. Unlike previous editions, maps are organized simply by continent and alphabetical order, which is probably a better idea than trying to subjectively sort maps into the “Zone” classes of the previous books. Most cities get a double-page spread, but the usual suspects – London, Paris, New York, Barcelona, etc. – get more in-depth treatment and a lot more great maps to look at. Perhaps it would have been nice to get a city from Asia (Singapore, perhaps?) or somewhere else get the same level of detail, but Mark can only work with the maps that he can a) find, and b) get permission to use.
Another thing that distinguishes this book from the previous ones are the last two sections. In the first, Mark presents the thoughts of transit map designers from around the world on various subjects – what makes a map “iconic”? What problems do transit map designers have to overcome when designing a map? This section is full of great insights and is a very welcome addition to the content of the book. Finally, there’s a very short section on fantasy transit maps to round the book out – which I honestly think could have been expanded on – but it’s great to see this aspect of transit map design being represented in a book like this. Long-time readers of this blog will recognise most of the examples presented.
I’ll also note that this is easily the most beautiful out of the three books. Bigger pages allow the maps to be reproduced at larger sizes, with many of them getting full-page treatment, and the print quality is excellent throughout (a complaint I had about the 2015 book). I also love the hard cover, especially the elegant spot varnish that’s been applied to the Vignelli-esque New York subway diagram (adapted from the work of user Alargule on Wikipedia). This is definitely a book that’s been assembled, designed and printed with a lot of care, and it shows in the final product.
Our final word: If you don’t have any of the previous books, then this is a no-brainer: get this book! If you do, then I still highly recommend it, but be aware that there will be some maps in it that you’ve seen before.
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