All posts tagged: Core Type Area

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 […]