Submitted by Eco, who says:

I made this redesign of Greater Kuala Lumpur’s rail and BRT map this summer for an competition, given their official map feels unusually sloppy [Review from 2021 here: it looks much the same today – Cam]. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Transit Maps says:

Oh, I do like this! A sleek, modern diagram that’s future-proofed up to 2032 with the inclusion of the planned MRT Circle Line (line 13). Not only is that line perfectly circular, but there’s two properly concentric arcs for lines 8 and 12 contained within that circle as well! Pulling this off and still maintaining the right space and balance across the rest of the diagram is incredibly tricky, but the execution here is fantastic.

The integration of the numbered bullets for each line into the terminus stations is also really well executed and very consistently handled. I especially like it when the lines come in from the opposite directions, like with lines 4 and 5 at Putra Heights at the bottom left of the diagram. The lines numbers are perhaps just a bit too small for easy reference because of this, however.

I also really like the little rain cloud icon for transfers that are “not weather protected” – a necessary thing to know in Malaysia’s tropical climate! The icons for points of interest and landmarks are also excellent – rendered in a consistent and clear style, and fading out of the background like they’re emerging from a jungle mist. It is perhaps a little unfortunate that the National Palace’s icon above Semantan station looks like it’s balancing on the peak of a mountain, but a little bit of reworking can easily solve that little problem. There’s also some subtle but effective use of shadows and texture throughout that adds a lot of dimensionality to the diagram – just lovely work.

At the moment, lines 10, 11 and 13 seem a little too low in contrast relative to the black background but this may very well be intentional as they aren’t actually open yet. That contrast is definitely something to look at as each line comes into service, though. While black backgrounds on diagrams do look undeniably awesome (and definitely appeal to younger generations that have embraced “dark mode” on their devices), I do think that it can be trickier to find colours for route lines that work well on them when compared to a diagram with a white background.

Our final word: Superb – and leaps and bounds above the official map.