Submitted by Harsha, who says: I’ve been a big fan of your blog for over a decade. Recently, I had the opportunity to replicate the BART transit map for a data visualization in a story I wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle. I would love to hear your thoughts on it! Transit Maps says: First off, it’s great to see a transit map-related infographic from a newspaper graphics team! As an interesting and attention-grabbing way […]
Submitted by Bruce Englehardt, who says: It’s been a while since your last review of the St. Louis MetroLink map (Dec. 2011, a generous 3 stars), and it has since been updated. Of note is the new Gateway Arch symbol and redundant labels. The labeling for stations seems more consistent overall and they’ve retained the parking labels (though now with colors that could be confused with connecting lines/services). Transit Maps says: Judging by the PDF’s […]
Here’s a simple little trick that works in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop CS4 and above: You can quickly check your artwork to see how it might appear for a colour-blind user by simply going to the View menu > Proof Setup, then choosing one of the two colour-blind profiles at the bottom of the list. Then select View > Proof Colors (Cmd/Ctrl-Y in Photoshop). As you can see from the GIF above, the results can be […]
Submitted by Cameron, who says: Hi Cameron, fellow Cameron here! I recently redesigned the Beijing Subway map for an Information Design class (as well as doing a little bit of rebranding and signage/wayfinding design). It’s still a work in progress so I’d love to hear your thoughts on it! You can view the entire project as well as a full-size PDF here. Transit Maps says: This looks like an interesting (and somewhat daunting) project! I […]
Colour blindness affects a small but significant percentage of the population, mainly males. It is estimated that around 7 to 8 percent of men are red-green colour blind (the most common type of colour blindness), while less than one percent of women are. Strangely enough, I knew a girl in high school who was colour blind, but I digress… Transit maps, as informational design, should pay attention to how colour blind users perceive them. Shown […]
