Fantasy Map: Appalachian Trail Subway

December 3, 2011
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From Stonebrown Design comes this clever “subway” map of the famous Appalachian Trail, a hiking path that stretches some 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine. Normally confined to detailed topographical maps, here it has been simplified to its very basic elements — a path, stops along the way and state lines. Clever work.

Have we been there? No, but I have a friend who thru-hiked the whole trail and loved every second of it.

What we like: Clever adaptation of the familiar subway iconography for a very different purpose. Especially like the clarification between on-trail and off-trail “stops”, an important distinction for hikers.

What we don’t like: Not a huge amount to dislike. Even the angled text – my usual pet peeve – works well in this instance, allowing text to sit cleanly within each relevant state. Hikers might complain that it doesn’t give any indication of elevation: I’ve heard some of those mountains along the way are a hard slog!

Our rating: Clever and witty reworking of standard subway design and iconography. They aren’t selling posters of this yet, but they really should be. Four stars.

Source: Stonebrown Design

Unofficial Map: New York Subway by Alex Koplin

December 2, 2011
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New York is continuing its time in the spotlight here at Transit Maps with this brand new subway map by designer Alex Koplin. Looking for all the world like the love-child of the Vignelli diagram and the current MTA map, this is a seriously impressive piece of work that a lot of thought has clearly gone into. I know from experience how difficult it can be to reinvent something that people are familiar with, and this manages to create its own identity while still paying homage to its sources.

Have we been there? Yes.

What we like: An excellent melding of the disparate styles of the two maps, without looking completely derivative, or like the Kick Map, the other hybrid map that I know of. Seems to have a comprehensive key and service guide, although I can’t really make them out in the preview images on his site. Nice inset for Staten Island.

What we don’t like: I’m not totally sold on the heavy weight of the font used throughout: it seems a little heavy-handed, especially for the borough names. The word “Manhattan” seems crammed into Central Park – a slightly smaller font size would allow the type some space to breathe. The one angle that’s not at a multiple of 45 degrees – the jog of the 1 to the Upper West Side from Columbus Circle – stands out like a sore thumb.

Our rating: A fine homage without looking derivative. Four stars.

Source: H/34 – Alex’s design site (no longer active)

Photo: Munich Schnellbahnnetz

December 1, 2011
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Now that’s a BIG transit map – looks like you can read it from across the tracks!

Source: Khaz/Flickr

Fantasy Map: Vignelli-Style New York Subway Ampersand

November 30, 2011
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It’s NYC day here at Transit Maps! This impressive work by Pentagram’s Luke Hayman for Amsterdam-based interior design magazine Eigen Huis & Interieur combines their masthead ampersand with Massimo Vignelli’s subway map. Created for the magazine’s New York issue, the map’s “stations” represent New York design icons, people and institutions.

Our rating: Awesome! Five stars!

Historical Map: New York Subway, 1966

November 30, 2011
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The main arguments against Massimo Vignelli’s masterful 1972 diagrammatic map of the New York Subway are that New York never had a diagram before and hated it, and that it distorted the geography too much (the usual example given is the compression of Central Park into a square instead of its actual rectangle).

However, this map – the immediate predecessor to the Vignelli map and used in various forms from around 1958 to 1972 – does exactly the same things, just with less style and grace. The representation of the three subway company’s lines in red (IND), green (BMT) and black (IRT) are clearly simplified and diagrammatic, and distortion of the geography is apparent everywhere, especially in (a square) Central Park and Flushing Meadow Park, which takes on almost ridiculous proportions. So why has this map never gained the same notoriety as the Vignelli map? Probably because it wasn’t designed by some fancy-pants big-shot graphic designer, that’s why.

Have we been there? Yes, and I navigated the subway like a local, even giving directions to other riders.

What we like: The blue chalk outlines of the shoreline are charming and very well executed (this is well before the day of Adobe Illustrator brushes!). Transfer, route names and rush hour services are all illustrated well, as is the important distinction between local and express trains. Tourist points of interest are called out in their own legend and the numbered yellow circles are easy to find (although, strangely, the Statue of Liberty seems to be located 200 yards south of Battery Park). 

What we don’t like: It may be the age of the poster, but the green and black route lines are very tonally similar and can be confused for each other. Type is very small.

Our rating: An excellent early example of an American diagrammatic map, and one that clearly shows that New York had had plenty of exposure to the genre before the Vignelli map. This map only looks poor in comparison to the brilliance of that later piece. Four stars.

Source: nycsubway.org website

Historical Map: Boston MTA System, c. 1940s

November 29, 2011
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Another aerial-style view of a transit system – this time of Boston’s MTA (Metropolitan Transit Authority: now known as the “T”) subway system. The attention to detail is wonderful, with each station and tunnel lovingly and accurately rendered. Note how the routes have different colours to the current map: the current colours come from a system-wide rebranding in the 1960s.

Have we been there? Yes, and I used the “T” extensively while there.

What we like: Overall effect is charming, but also extremely detailed. Fantastic historical value.

What we don’t like: Black squares for “M.T.A. Public Auto Parks” seem a little tacked on. As always, the streetcar sections of the modern Green Line get the short end of the stick, just fading off into nothing once above ground. (Compare to the current map, where only select stations are named.)

Our rating: Lovely historical record, but necessarily not the most usable map. Marvellously done, nonetheless. Four stars.

Source: vanshnookenraggen/Flickr

Official Map: Taipei MRT, Taiwan, 2011

November 28, 2011
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Taipei’s Metro system only began construction in 1988, but now has almost 90 stations and over 100km of track. All this comes at a price however, with Phase One of the system costing US$18 billion and Phase Two (currently under construction) estimated to cost US$13.8 billion upon completion.

Have we been there? No.

What we like: Nice diagrammatic representation – the stylised rivers are handled much better on this diagram than on the Tyne & Wear Metro, with the gradual thinning being very subtly done in most instances. Obvious distinction between transfer stations and regular ones.

What we don’t like: Station names get very close to the route lines in some places. Having bilingual names makes this difficult, but the placement seems inconsistent at times. Noting stations that link to the HSR and other mainline trains in the legend but not on the map is not very helpful: it took me a long time to locate Banqiao station (the secondary HSR station) or Songshan Airport station on the map. Icons located by the relevant stations on the map would work much better.

Our rating: A solid map, but not inspiring. Three stars.

Source: Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation website

New MTA Wayfinding Signage

November 24, 2011
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Nice supplementary wayfinding signage at New York’s Union Square Station. YOU ARE HERE.

Source: Nick Sherman/Flickr

Official Map: Los Angeles Metro, 2011

November 23, 2011
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Requested by Mr. Grafix, among others.

Public transportation in LA is making a comeback, decades after the last streetcar line was ripped up. At the heart of this renaissance is the Metro system, an odd combination of light rail (Blue, Green and Yellow lines), heavy rail (Red and Purple lines) and Bus Rapid Transit (Orange and Silver lines). The new Expo Line is also nearing completion of Phase I and will be showing up on this map very soon as Light Blue. One thing this map tries desperately hard to hide is how difficult it is to travel between LAX and downtown using Metro: the LAX Shuttle takes you to the Green Line, from which you have to transfer to the Blue Line to reach the city, while the enticingly-named LAX FlyAway bus can take up to 50 minutes to reach its destination, depending on traffic.

Have we been there? Yes, but I haven’t ridden Metro yet.

What we like: Very clean design featuring a distinctive sans serif font (looks like DIN). Makes the important distinction between free and paid parking, as well as noting stations with bike parking. Resists the temptation to put a geographically accurate shoreline around a very diagrammatic representation of the system. Three different versions of this map exist – this one, lines under construction, and Metro plus Metrolink commuter rail – and all work together seamlessly: a job well done.

What we don’t like: Big squares for the BRT stations look a bit heavy-handed. Circle-to-square interchanges are also a bit awkward. While the type is only angled in one direction, some awkward shapes are made where angled type meets horizontal – especially Pico and Grand stations on the Blue Line.

Our rating: Nice clean design that ties in well with Metro’s corporate identity and website – one of the nicer-looking transit identities around at the moment. Four stars.

Source: Official LA Metro website