Apparently, you’re at the Cardinal Lemoine Metro station in Paris… just a guess!
Source: Ed…../Flickr
Photo: Where Are We?
100 Ways to Serve Pizza: Pizza Subway Map
From Lauren Manning’s highly amusing 100 Ways to Serve Pizza Tumblr.
Unofficial Maps: Bus Routes of Greater Israel/Palestine
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 them from a Palestinian point of view. The differences are striking.
The Israeli map has a calming grey background, and the text presents the bus services as a way of linking and benefiting Jewish-Israeli communities on both sides of the prosaically named “Security Fence” (an understatement reminiscent of the Berlin Wall being simply referred to as the Sektorengrenze, or “sector boundary”). The Security Fence itself is de-emphasised by being shown as white against the grey background, while the 1949 Armistice Line is barely visible at all.
In contrast, the Palestinian version of the map has a dramatic black background, and the text uses words like “illegal” to describe the bus routes shown. The Security Fence is renamed as the “Separation Wall” and is emphasised strongly by thickening it and colouring it yellow, contrasting strongly against the black background. The land between the Separation Wall and the 1967 Green Line is hatched, bringing into relief the land that Palestinians believe have been stolen from them by Israel over the years.
Place names on both the maps reflect their backgrounds – Judea and Samaria on the Israeli map become the politically-charged “The West Bank” on the Palestinian map. Subtle differences in the size and position of Israeli settlements reflect the two opposing views on their legality.
Our rating: Extraordinary example of how design decisions can completely alter the tone and bias of a map. In isolation, each map would present a compelling argument for each position – by comparing them, we can see how we are influenced by what the map designer chooses to show, and by how they choose to show it. Five stars.
Historical Diagram: Hudson River Tubes Cutaway, 1909
While not strictly speaking a transit map, this awesome cutaway diagram of the Hudson River Tubes featured in our last post is just too cool not to share with you. Contemporaneous with that map, this cutaway shows the junction to the northern (or Uptown) cross-Hudson tubes which leave the image to the right. Of particular interest is how the lines stack and twist around each other, almost certainly done to minimise the width of any excavation work.
Source: Wikipedia
Historical Map: Hudson River Tubes, 1909
Basically an advertisement for the newly-opened Hudson River Tubes — still in use by PATH trains today, over 100 years later — with the H&M lines proudly and boldly displayed in red. Planning for the future is also on display, making the service look somewhat bigger than it really was. From my limited research, it seems that the extensions shown in Manhattan were never actually built.
The Hudson Terminal Buildings (shown in the photo inset at top left) were replaced by the World Trade Center complex as part of the deal struck to allow the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to take over the operations of the H&M RR.
Source: Penn State Maps Library/Flickr
Unofficial Map: Transportation of Walt Disney World Resort, Florida, 2012
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 is no easy feat, and I think that Arthur has done a fantastic-looking job (although I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the map’s contents).
Have we been there? No. Maybe when my son is old enough to appreciate it.
What we like: Beautifully executed map that obviously has a lot of research and thought behind it (despite Arthur’s statements regarding potential errors). Takes a system that’s as complex as many large cities, and creates order and simplicity out of it. The Mickey Mouse/London Underground Roundel mashup in the top right corner is hilarious.
What we don’t like: Could use a little more visual differentiation between the monorail and bus services. The “M” at stations is a little hard to find when you’re first scanning the map. Map is maybe a little too sterile for what is an enormous theme park.
Our rating: Fantastic work that shows a complex system with remarkable clarity. Four-and-a-half-stars! Be sure to click through to the image on Flickr where you can view it large!
Source: wolfstad/Flickr
Photo: New York Subway Quilt
Time Lapse Video: the Creation of a Transit Map
As promised, here’s the time lapse video I made while creating my International E-Road Network diagram (E-Roads are the rough European equivalent to America’s Interstate highways, although not all European countries signpost them, or even acknowledge their existence. It’s complicated!).
Each frame of this video is a screenshot from Adobe Illustrator at the same zoom setting, taken roughly 30 minutes of working time apart. For me, the interesting thing is how organic the process looks when viewed like this… I’d get stuck on one part, so I’d move from one country to another for a while. My brain would subconsciously process the problems I’d been having, and I’d always find that previous section easier to work on when I returned to it.
Enjoy!
A Kid’s View of the New York Subway by Erin Jang
I’ve always loved this one-off poster by designer/illustrator Erin Jang. Designed specifically to showcase her three-year-old nephew’s favourite places in New York, it’s a fantastic example of pitch-perfect design: bright, bold and colourful with whimsical illustrations balancing the geometric route lines.
Photo: Chemins de Fer du Midi
Another entry in the “Gigantic Map on the Wall of a Railway Station” category, this time at the SNCF station in Bordeaux, France. The modern signage in the foreground and on the ticket office looks sadly out of place in the grandeur of this amazing space.
Source: henribergius/Flickr