Transit Maps: graphic design

All posts tagged: graphic design

Review: New York Subway and Paris Métro Architecture and Design Maps by Blue Crow Media

December 8, 2019

Filed Under:
Gift Guide, Reviews

Tags:

architecture, Blue Crow Media, cartography, design, Europe, France, gift guide, graphic design, Jason Woods, Linda Tonn, Mark Ovenden, metro, MTA, New York, New York Subway, Nigel Green, Paris, Paris Metro, Sandra Bloodworth, subway, USA

Transit Maps previously reviewed Blue Crow’s London Underground Architecture and Design Map back in 2017, and they’ve just released two new maps in the series celebrating Paris and New York’s transit systems (there’s also another map in the series for Moscow). As before, the maps are simple but elegant in their execution, with a geographical map of the system on one side and the explanatory text and photos on the other. They come in handsome […]

Review: London Underground Architecture and Design Map by Blue Crow Media

November 25, 2017

comment 1

Filed Under:
Reviews

Tags:

2017 gift guide, architecture, Blue Crow Media, cartography, design, England, Europe, gift guide, graphic design, London, London Underground, Mark Ovenden, tube map, United Kingdom, Will Scott

Blue Crow Media is an independent publisher of beautifully designed city guide maps on many subjects – you may be familiar with their “Brutalist Architecture” series – and this new map is the first in a planned series of maps about public transportation networks around the world. Edited by Mark Ovenden (of Transit Maps of the World fame) with some lovely photos by Will Scott, the map promises to be an authoritative guide to the design and architecture […]

Project: 1989 East Berlin Bahnhofsübersicht Map Digital Recreation

April 30, 2017

comment 1

Filed Under:
Historical Maps, My Transit Maps

Tags:

1989, Berlin, Bernd Bartholomes, Cameron Booth, digital recreation, East Berlin, East Germany, Germany, Gert Wunderlich, graphic design, S Bahn, transit map, Typoart, typography, U Bahn

I've long admired this fascinating map of the railway network in and around East Berlin, produced at the tail end of the Cold War in 1989. As is usual, I decided to redraw it in Adobe Illustrator to see what makes it tick.

Project: Amtrak as Subway Map (revised)

September 14, 2016

comments 20

Filed Under:
My Transit Maps, Prints Available

Tags:

Adobe Illustrator, Amtrak, Cameron Booth, graphic design, passenger rail, USA

One of my longest-running projects is a subway diagram-styled map of Amtrak’s passenger rail network, with the original version dating back to 2010. I always made sure to update it regularly over the years, adding and deleting stations to keep it current. In April last year, I attempted to update the design of the map as well, although I ended up trying a few too many overly-clever things with it – overlaying lines on top of […]

Reader Question: Have You Seen the Interview with the Designer of the London Underground Map?

May 27, 2016

Leave a comment

Filed Under:
Questions

Tags:

design, England, Europe, Geoff Marshall, graphic design, HC Beck, information design, London Underground, Londonist, TfL, tube map, United Kingdom

Question: Have you seen the interview Londonist did with the designer of the new London Underground map? Really fascinating! Answer: I sure have! If anyone hasn’t seen it yet, then head over to the Londonist website and watch the interview here. Personally, I wish it was more in-depth and technical, but that’s because I’m a total and utter transit map-making nerd who loves that kind of stuff. The interview does make a couple of very […]

GIF: Evolution of the London Underground Roundel (1908-2016)

May 24, 2016

Leave a comment

Filed Under:
Miscellany

Tags:

1908, branding, bullseye, Edward Johnston, England, Europe, evolution, Frank Pick, GIF, graphic design, logo, London, London Passenger Transport Board, London Transport, London Underground, roundel, TfL, Transport for London, United Kingdom

<Image removed at request of Transport for London, December 20, 2019> Surprisingly, I haven’t seen anything like this on the Internet before, so I went and made my own. It’s been compiled from various sources (both official and unofficial), so the quality is a little variable, but it’s still fun to look at! I’ve made the dimensions of the circle/ring consistent across all the different versions, so the height and width of the crossbar shrinks […]

Historical Map: Poster Promoting the Bakerloo Line Extension to Stanmore, 1939

March 4, 2016

Leave a comment

Filed Under:
Advertising, Historical Maps

Tags:

1939, advertising, art, Bakerloo Line, Gill Sans, graphic design, Johnston Sans, London Underground, poster, typography

By the mid-1930s, the London Underground’s Metropolitan line was suffering from congestion caused by the limited capacity of its tracks between Baker Street and Finchley Road stations. To relieve this pressure, a tunnel was constructed between the Bakerloo line’s platforms at Baker Street and Finchley Road and three Metropolitan line stations (Lord’s, Marlborough Road and Swiss Cottage) were replaced with two new Bakerloo stations (St. John’s Wood and Swiss Cottage). The Bakerloo line took over […]

Historical Map: Inauguration Poster for Metro de Santiago de Chile, 1975

February 9, 2016

Leave a comment

Filed Under:
Historical Maps

Tags:

1975, Chile, graphic design, Metro de Santiago, poster, Santiago, South America

A lovely celebratory poster for the Metro’s opening year, showing the overall envisioned network at the time. Only a short section of the red Linea 1 was actually open initially – as can be seen running across the poster about a third of the way down – and the eventual system as built today is substantially different to this vision (March 2014, 3.5 stars). Of particular interest are the black diamonds dotted liberally around the […]

More Design Notes on the Redrawn Tube Map

February 1, 2016

comments 4

Filed Under:
My Transit Maps, Tutorials, Unofficial Maps

Tags:

Adobe Illustrator, Cameron Booth, diagram, graphic design, London, London Underground, technique, TfL, transit map, Transport for London

Wow! I've been completely blown away by the (mostly positive) response to my redrawn Tube Map. Thanks to everyone who has left me a comment or note – all of your thoughts help to inform future revisions to the map. There's a few more parts of the map that I'm personally really happy with that I'd like to highlight in a little more detail than the already lengthy initial post allowed. Read on for the details!

London Tube Map Featured in New UK Passport Design

November 3, 2015

Leave a comment

Filed Under:
Miscellany

Tags:

creative arts, England, Europe, graphic design, H.C. Beck, London, London Underground, passport, TfL, tube map, Underground Map, United Kingdom

Passport design has come a long way in the last few years, often being transformed from relatively dour official documents into elaborate and detailed expressions of national pride. The new UK passport is no exception, with the theme of “Creative United Kingdom” tying all the page designs together, celebrating over 500 years of artists, landmarks and architecture, the performing arts and iconic innovations – including this spread for the London Underground, prominently featuring the Tube Map. […]