New Moscow Transit Map – Draft Version versus Final Version Comparison

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A fascinating look at the same part of the new Art.Lebedev Studios-designed Moscow transit map – one specifically designed to show multiple modes of transportation in Moscow (all with <10 minute frequencies, I believe) instead of just the Metro.

The draft version is via Jarrett Walker’s website, while the final map comes straight from the horse’s mouth at the Art.Lebedev Studios website. At first glance, they appear almost identical, but it’s the tiny little adjustments and differences between the two that I find so interesting and that demonstrate meticulous attention to detail that make a world-class transit map.

Personally, I actually find some of the elements of the draft map more successful than the final map, not the least of which is the simply stunning circular dotted pattern used for the parklands. It adds a lovely subtle texture to the map which I find very visually pleasing and evocative, although I will admit that the plain green background of the final map does makes the text a little more legible.

The other odd change in the final map is the way that some route numbers are now set to follow their diagonally-running route line. For some reason, this makes the two separate route numbers (71 and 628) in the middle top of the map detail above run into each other visually, looking more like one long route number – 71628. In the draft version, these routes are set in two lines, one below the other, leaving no room for any ambiguity.

The addition of a background grid to the final map is a necessity, but it does look a little better without it, I feel.

But there are improvements as well: the TV Tower icon now has a thin background colour keyline around it to lift it out of the background and add dimensionality. This works really effectively, especially where the icon crosses in front of the blue monorail line.

Other things to note: the beautiful icons, the superbly understated colour palette, and the excellent handling of the difficult bilingual requirements of such a detailed map.

Photo: Any Map Will Do

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A giant wall map of bus routes from the Kempegowda bus station in Bangalore, India. The map may wish you a “happy and comfortable journey”, but it’s not doing you too many favours in helping you plot your route. A spider’s web of lines and hundreds of names cover the wall from floor to ceiling, all in blue and red on a yellow background. Some of the people in this photo seem to have been studying this map for quite a while… 

Source: the_steve_cox/Flickr

Photo: Moscow Metro Advertisements

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Two Moscow Metro ads from around 2004 or so. The one on the left is pretty average, but the dress in the poster on the right is beyond amazing.

The original source of these photos on Flickr seems to think that they’re recruitment ads for Metro staff, and translates the headlines as follows:

Left: In the Metro, the Weather’s Good

Right: Hit of the Season

Source: Esthr/Flickr

Fantasy Map: AWESOME Map!

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A Vignelli-esque fictional map that explores all the different ways we can say “AWESOME!” And it makes a nice little “thumbs up” shape – also awesome! The slightly distressed effect in the printing is also pretty neat. Apparently this was produced for a show that opened here in Portland yesterday, but the link to the event’s Facebook page is broken.

If I’m going to be slightly picky with this ever-so-neat design, I’d have to say that the use of angled labels for the “station” names is out of character for a minimalist transit map like this – it’s certainly not how Vignelli himself would have done it, as his own New York subway map attests. There’s plenty of room to set everything horizontally, which makes the decision to do otherwise stand out even more.

Source: Jeffery F./Twitter

Photo: Vandalised/Redrawn SEPTA Map

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Someone ripped the map off the wall, so a kind soul thoughtfully drew the routes and stations back on with a pen. If it’s done from memory, that’s fairly impressive work.

Source: Josh Kruger/Twitter – link no longer active

Historical Map: Tentative Location of Future Rapid Transit Lines, Philadelphia, 1913

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From A. Merritt Taylor’s Report of Transit Commissioner, City of Philadelphia. At the time, only the current Market-Frankford Line (complete with “Ferry Line” extension at the east end) was operating, so everything else shown here is proposed. Coincidentally, the colour scheme used seems to be almost identical to that used today, although the colours actually indicate immediacy of construction – blue for extant, orange for “immediate construction” and green for “future construction”.

Source: 18brumaire/Flickr

Illustration: On the Subway, with the Subway

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A neat little “on the subway” character sketch, complete with a cameo from the New York subway map in the background. Love it!

Source: amirocks/Flickr

Historical Map: Chicago Surface Lines (Streetcar) Transfer Ticket (date unknown)

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A tiny little map of Chicago with streetcar lines and the underlying street grid printed on the obverse of a transfer ticket. It seems to be mainly used for indicating the time and place that the transfer was issued, rather than for any attempt at navigation of the system.

If I’m reading the clock face at the top of the ticket correctly, this transfer was issued at 3:35 (or 7:15) on July 2nd by a conductor on the Archer Avenue line. Note that this line is highlighted in red, and the zone that the transfer was issued in is also punched out on the map.

I’m presuming here that the road grid is the basis of the “zones” that the rather stern directions on the reverse of the ticket refer to. My favourite part is “Reverse riding will be subject to the questioning of the conductor.” Busted! I’m also thinking that the red “NE” and “SW” at the top right of the ticket indicate the initial direction of travel to make the conductor’s task easier in this regard. This makes sense, because then all the information that’s related to the Archer Avenue line itself is printed in red on top of the standard green ink… a clever cost-saving printing method.

I don’t have a date for this ticket, but it can’t be later than 1948, as that’s when the Archer Avenue line was abandoned. It certainly has a late 1930s-early 1940s feel to it.

Source: Metropolitan Planning Council (who erroneously label it as an “old CTA map”).

Photo: Red on Red

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An old photo (taken in 2005 at Charles/MGH station according to the metadata over on Flickr), but even then the spider map was out of date. Love the red wall for the Red Line.

Source: quicklyfailing/Flickr