Official Map: Copenhagen S-Tog Map, 2011

December 9, 2011
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Some transit maps are geographically based, others are diagrams. But what happens when you get a map with too much diagram? That’s what we have with Copenhagen’s S-Tog (S-Train) map: it looks gorgeous, but at what cost to usability?

Have we been there? Yes, but I didn’t use the S-Tog system. I arrived and left by long-distance trains from/to Berlin, and caught a regional train out to Roskilde to visit the Viking Ship Museum ( an absolute must-see!)

What we like: Stunningly slick European design. A lovely distinctive typeface (the PDF tells me it is called “Via Office”). The DSB logo at bottom right – a modern reworking of a winged wheel by the look of things – is gorgeous.

What we don’t like: The stark diagrammatic network on a simple grey background may look fantastic, but I feel it has gone too far. There’s absolutely no reference points to guide someone unfamiliar with the city – Copenhagen is made up of canals, rivers and islands, but none of them are visible. Even the main railway station – the hub of the network – doesn’t stand out: it looks exactly like very other station. No reference is made to connections to the Metro service out to the airport. The numbers on the map, which refer to Denmark’s convoluted zone system, make absolutely no sense to those unfamiliar with it.

Our rating: Looks great, but sacrifices context and valuable location information to achieve it. Glossy but lacking in substance. Three stars.

Source: DSB S-Tog site

Fantasy Map: Deutsche Bahn ICE Network as a U-Bahn Map

December 9, 2011
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Clever work here from the German office of Ogilvy Advertising, taking the familiar iconography of a typical German-styled U-Bahn map and applying it — and its associated promises of rapid, frequent service — to the Germany-wide ICE (high-speed train) network.

My only problem with this work is that the shape of the network bears little resemblance to Germany itself, probably because of the landscape format of the bilboard.

Source: Viralbuzz.de and Design Made in Germany

Historical Maps: Man-Made Philadelphia, 1972

December 8, 2011
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  • Philadelphia Rail Network, 1972
  • Philadelphia Bus Network, 1972
  • Philadelphia Highways, 1972
  • Philadelphia Growth, 1776-1976

One last view of Philadelphia transit via these amazing diagrams from a 1972 book by Richard Saul Wurman from the MIT Press, “Man-Made Philadelphia”, now sadly out of print. As well as the train network, there’s also buses, highways and the growth of the city. Definitely loving the early 70s mimimalism design vibe to these. Looks like they were all produced specially for the book.

Source: rjwhite/Flickr

Historical Map: Philadelphia SEPTA Map, c. 1979-1980

December 7, 2011
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A reblog by cranialdetritus of yesterday’s featured SEPTA map asked whether I had covered the SEPTA maps of the 1970s yet. I hadn’t, and tracking down an image proved a little tricky. The best I can find is a modern redrawing of the map from around 1979-1980 – credit to Lucius Kwok of Felt Tip Software for this work. It seems to be a quite accurate rendition, as the photo below – showing part of a very similar sign that is still in situ – attests.

Have we been there? No.

What we like: Compared to today’s SEPTA map, this is gorgeous. It always makes me sad when beautiful maps are replaced by something nowhere near as good. Of course, the two maps don’t show exactly the same services, so it’s not an apples to apples comparison, but many lessons could be learned from this. The lovely simplicity of the rivers stands out the most, and the interchange station network downtown is deftly handled as well. Commuter rail, which is a horrible, blobby mess on the current map, almost looks graceful here – and it’s a bigger, more complex network!

What we don’t like: The poor old trolleys get short shrift again, with some arrows pointing in the general direction they go.

Our rating: So superior to the current map that it hurts. Four stars.

Source: Map: Felt Tip Software (link no longer active);  Photo: S. Thurmovik (link no longer active)

Official Map: Philadelphia SEPTA Network, 2011

December 6, 2011
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After quite a few stellar maps, it’s time to show what I consider to be one of the least successful transit maps in current use in the US. To put it bluntly, SEPTA’s map is an unappealing, jumbled mess and certainly does not get me excited to use their system (a major plus point in my internal scoring system).

Have we been there? No.

What we like: Deserves credit for attempting to show so many different modes on one map as well as connections to other, unrelated, services – Amtrak, PATCO and the River Line in Trenton, NJ. Pity it’s so ugly.

What we don’t like: Oh dear, where to begin?

Huge blobby terminus stations on the regional rail lines. Incredibly tight spacing between stations on the 101 trolley line. Compare the dense 101 and 102 trolleys with the other trolley lines, which peter out into unconvincing arrows after a few stops – mainly because the designer couldn’t work out how to fit them in the space allocated, I think. Where is Port Richmond, anyway? This map sure doesn’t tell me.

No visual distinction that the Red PATCO line isn’t part of SEPTA’s services (you have to read the legend to find that out).

Yellow “Free Interchange” symbols are U-G-L-Y. Curves on the Regional Rail lines are inconsistent and technically deficient (look at the one heading north to the left of 30th Street Station and how it’s been hideously bent to avoid the word “Amtrak”).

While the rivers have been rendered in diagrammatic form, the map still wants to show every single little twist and turn in the shoreline – overwrought and unnecessary (as well as badly drawn – lots of non-45-degree angles can be seen).

Finally, this map totally fails the color-blind test: almost everything ends up yellow or blue with very little contrast between adjacent lines and nothing on the map apart from colour to link the routes to the legend.

Our rating: I call it “the blobby map”. Hideous and unwelcoming. One-and-a-half stars.

Source: Official SEPTA website

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

Coat Tree

December 3, 2011
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Uhhh…. wow?!

Source: nevver

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!