30 Search Results for: tutorial

Tutorial: Station Labels Using the “Core Type Area” – Part 4: Intersecting Route Lines

December 10, 2013
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Here’s the last of my tutorials regarding station label placement – what to do when route lines intersect each other. There are three standard ways that orthogonal route lines can cross each other, each illustrated below. Horizontal and Vertical Lines: The simplest intersection to deal with. Simply keep the same distance from the side and top/bottom of your label for consistent results. Vertical Line Intersecting an Angled Line (or a Horizontal Line/Angled Line): This one’s […]

Tutorial: Station Labels Using the “Core Type Area” – Part 3: Angled Labels

December 3, 2013
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While it’s true that I don’t really like the use of station labels that are angled – being very much in the Erik Spiekermann camp that believes horizontal labels aid comprehension and create a cleaner looking map – I do realise that there are times when their use is necessary. If you do use angled labels, then I strongly advise that you keep the number of angles used to the absolute minimum required – type […]

Tutorial: Station Labels Using the “Core Type Area” – Part 2: 45-Degree Angled Route Lines

November 27, 2013
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Following on from last week’s tutorial, here’s how to use the Core Type Area to make your station labels align perfectly and consistently when you’re applying them to 45-degree angled route lines. If you use the edges of the Core Type Area when you’re aligning labels to horizontal and vertical route lines, then it should make perfect sense that you use the corners of it when you’re labelling angled stations. The first GIF shows the […]

Tutorial: Station Labels Using the “Core Type Area” – Part 1: Horizontal and Vertical Route Lines

November 20, 2013
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A lot of transit maps that I’ve seen and reviewed on this blog are badly let down by their labelling. Sometimes it seems that the labels have been applied without much forethought or planning, or just slapped on at the end and placed wherever they will fit. But labels are arguably one of the most important parts of a transit map: it should always be immediately apparent which station marker a label belongs to, and […]

Tutorial: More on Using Point Type in Illustrator (with Owen Lett)

November 13, 2013
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Here’s a fantastic follow-up post from Owen Lett (the man who brought you this neat fantasy transit map of Victoria, BC) in response to yesterday’s tutorial about point type in Illustrator. There’s a lot to like about this approach, especially the integrated type point and station marker (two overlaid points define both elements and both can be placed simultaneously) and the use of paragraph styles (an often-overlooked feature in Adobe Illustrator) gives the ability to […]

Tutorial: Working with Point Type Labels in Adobe Illustrator

November 13, 2013
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Here’s a small but important tip when it comes to working with station labels in Adobe Illustrator. Most of the time, it’s easier to use what Illustrator calls point type when setting labels – that is, you click once with the Type Tool and then type your text, rather than dragging out a text frame with the tool. It looks neater in wireframe view and is generally less cumbersome to work with. However, you need […]

Tutorial: Applying a Stroke Behind Type in Adobe Illustrator

November 5, 2013
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Let me preface this tutorial by saying that — without a shadow of a doubt — this is my number one most favourite, time-saving, map-making Adobe Illustrator trick ever. When making transit maps, it’s preferable — for both aesthetics and readability — to not have any labels overlay a route line or other elements. However, sometimes it’s simply unavoidable, as in the detail of my Boston MBTA map redesign at the top of the image above […]

Tutorial: Multiple Strokes on One Path in Adobe Illustrator

October 29, 2013
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This little tip is thanks to RG, who left a comment on the site asking: “Can you comment on how you make the 2pt of white space between lines show when you have lines cross over each other?” On most transit maps, route lines will cross over each other at various points. Most of the time, an interchange station exists at that point and the symbol for that covers up the lines as they cross. […]

Tutorial: Working with 45-Degree Curves in Adobe Illustrator

October 27, 2013
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I got an request from an anon last week which asked:  “Hey! Could you do a video tutorial on how to bypass Illustrator’s annoying round corners effect in case of 45 degrees? It would be a lifesaver!” Now, while you’re not going to get a video tut out of me – I don’t have the resources, time or know-how to produce one of those – I can and will share my battle-tested personal approach to […]

Reader Question: What software do you use to make these? Are there any must-have tutorials that helped you learn the techniques used to produce these?

January 17, 2013
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I use Adobe Illustrator exclusively when working on my maps. As a graphic designer, it’s the tool that I’m most used to and that’s most suited to the task at hand. Any vector-based illustration application would be fine, though. Lots of people who want to get into map making without the cost of an Adobe app swear by Inkscape, although I’ve never used it personally. As for tutorials, I’ve pretty much learned all I know […]