Nice big maps, and clear (but maybe a little dull) directional signage. A full review of that system map looks to be in order in the near future…
Source: Ian YVR/Flickr
Photo: Osaka Subway Map, Area Map and Wayfinding System
Unofficial Map: Proposed Delhi Metro Expansion Map in the “Hindustan Times”
I know this just a quick in-house diagram to illustrate the proposed additions to the Delhi Metro system, but does it have to be so incomprehensible and ugly? Type is flying around at almost every possible angle, some lines are geographical, others are diagrammatic… I need a lie down.
Source: tanoy_raj/Flickr
Photo: Paris Metro / French Knot
Nicely executed embroidery and framing — a fun idea for something to do with those metro maps you picked up while backpacking around Europe!
Source: JessTodd/Flickr
Photo: Brussels Metro Map Changeover, April 2009
Here’s an interesting pair of photos from 2009 that show two in-car strip maps that co-existed on Metro trains in Brussels. Together, they show the changes in the system that were occurring with the opening of track between the Delacroix and Gare de l’Ouest stations.
Apart from a new look to the map, the system itself seems to have been overhauled completely, with the previous lines “1A” and “1B” becoming “5” and “6”, amongst lots of other changes. Note also the four languages used on the informational stickers: French, Dutch, English and German!
Source: Daniel Sparing/Flickr
Submission: Official Map, Seattle Central Link Light Rail, 2012
Submitted by Joshua Fan, who says:
This is an official map of Seattle’s Central Link light rail line, which opened in 2009. It appears in the official guide of all of Sound Transit’s services, which can be found in this PDF on the Sound Transit website. Frankly, I am quite disappointed in this map: it tries to both diagrammatic and geographical, but fails on both counts (which is a common mistake that you have pointed out on several previously-reviewed maps). Between stations, the map attempts to portray a semblance of geography on the line between stations, but the distances are incorrect: for example, the downtown stations at the north end are much farther apart on this map than they are in reality. The depiction of water is even worse: the map shows a lot of details in the shoreline, suggesting that it reflects the actual geography, but however the shape of the shoreline in the map is a really ugly distortion of the reality. I am curious about what you think about it!
Transit Maps says: The problem with this map is that it’s trying way too hard to make Seattle’s single line of light rail look more impressive than it really is. So it (unnecessarily) shows a lot of the twists and turns in the route and some pseudo-geographic coastline, and adds some optimistic information about the time it takes to get between key stations. It’s not the worst map out there, but it’s really pretty dull. Once North Link and East Link get added to the equation, things should start looking a little more exciting.
If I was drawing this map, I’d keep the big turns in the line: the kink eastward through Tukwila which then turns north to Rainier Beach, and the Beacon Hill tunnel: the rest, I’d straighten out completely. The weird kink south of Rainier Beach is totally extraneous on a map like this.
My main problem with the Seattle map will always be the icons used to mark each of the stations. Not only do they reproduce horribly at smaller sizes – like on this printed map – but the rationale behind them is the worst type of retroactive design-speak.
For those who don’t know, the idea is that “points of interest” near the station are plotted as “stars”, and from these stars, “constellations” created as the station icons. Conveniently, the points of interest always seem to fall just where required in order for something relevant to be designed for each station. Some very selective choosing of those “interesting” places, I think.
Here’s a link to a PDF that tells you more about the Constellations for those who are interested.
Photo: On Our Way to Asakusa
Here’s a dreamy shallow depth of field photo from Tokyo’s Ginza Line. Yum.
Source: Eric Flexyourhead/Flickr
New York by Jenni Sparks
Absolutely wonderful hand-drawn map of NYC by illustrator Jenni Sparks, second only to Paula Scher’s masterpieces.
(↬ kottke)
This is so gorgeous. Says a lot about the subway’s importance and place in New York’s collective psyche that it’s featured so prominently in the design, cutting vibrant coloured slashes across the landscape. Click through to Jenni’s site to see more of this stunning work.
Unofficial Map: FrontRunner and TRAX, Salt Lake City, Utah
Brought to my attention by Garrett Smith when he submitted the abomination that is the new official UTA map, here’s a completely different take on Salt Lake City’s rail system from Flickr user H4vok_13. This map is by no means perfect, but it’s an absolute paragon of simplicity and clean design compared to the real thing.
What we like: Streamlined, simplified route lines that expand the city centre and compress the outlying areas work wonders for the clarity of this map. Removing the street addresses from the station names helps a lot, as does the shortening of some of the longer station names.
What we don’t like: I’m not entirely convinced by the use of dashed lines for the FrontRunner routes – dashed lines on a transit map almost always signify a route under construction.
Nor am I a huge fan of the county boundary labels on the FrontRunner lines – a little big and overpowering, and not hugely important for using the system. From what I understand, county boundaries don’t correspond to fare zones on FrontRunner, so why is that information linked so heavily to those routes?
The proposed Sugarhouse Streetcar is perhaps given a little too much emphasis as well: if built, the route will only be about two miles long.
There’s also one very unfortunate error on the map – the service numbers for the Blue and Red lines have been transposed: Blue should be 701 and Red should be 703.
Our rating: Not perfect, but still streets ahead of the official map. Three-and-a-half stars.
Source: H4vok_13/Flickr – link no longer active
Official Map: TRAX and FrontRunner Rail Map, Salt Lake City, Utah, December 2012
Today, the FrontRunner commuter rail system opens for revenue service south of Salt Lake all the way down to Provo, and there’s a new version of the map to reflect this new service. I reviewed a previous version of this map back in July, and I didn’t have much positive to say about it then – and my opinion has not been changed with this new iteration. Quite a few people have submitted this new map to me, and they’ve all been extremely critical of it as well.
Have we been there? Yes, but I haven’t caught any trains.
What we like: To be honest: nothing.
What we don’t like: Almost all the flaws from the previous version of the map remain: the one thing that has improved is the removal of the huge labels explaining the concept of a transfer station. Downtown remains cramped and ugly, while the labelling of stations remains a sloppy, disorganised mess – possibly even worse than before – with some station names now a ridiculously long way from their related station marker (such as North Temple Bridge/Guadalupe).
Speaking of labels, the “FrontRunner” and “FrontRunner South” labels are inexcusably set in completely different fonts: the former in Swiss (a cheap Helvetica clone), the latter in Arial… look at the capital “R” and you’ll see they have completely different shapes.
And why does the South FrontRunner route line extend past Provo when it’s the end of the line?
Our rating: Simply terrible. One submitter of this map, Garrett Smith, sums it up very eloquently, I think:
“You know, it saddens me just a tad bit. Salt Lake City has made such an investment in its rail infrastructure, beginning with the initial 16-mile stretch of the Blue Line between downtown and Sandy in 1999. A mere fourteen years later, we’ve seen the construction of a 90-mile commuter rail line linking the entirety of the urban conglomeration in which Salt Lake lies, as well as massive light rail expansion. To show for it? We’ve got one of the worst transit maps around.”
Another anonymous submitter simply calls this map “embarrassing”… and it is. With the new FrontRunner extension, there was an opportunity for a fresh look at this map, a chance to create something vibrant, modern and attractive that matched the obvious quality of the system itself. Instead, we get this. Half a star.
Source: Official UTA FrontRunner schedule page
In-Car Strip Map, Seoul Metro, South Korea
Submitted by Sam Gold, who says:
“Taken last week on Line 2 of the Seoul Metro. I found these system maps to be close to unusable!”
Transit Maps says: Hard to disagree with Sam here. You’d need some excellent vision or really good glasses to be able to make out all the detail on this map, which crams all of Seoul’s extensive system into an area often used to show just one line or far simpler systems.