All posts tagged: graphic design

Submission – Unofficial Map: Metro and Suburban Rail, Milan by Dmitry Goloub

Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Unofficial Maps

Submitted by Dmitry, who says: It all started when in Moscow was initiated a public tender for creation of a new, modern metro map. I was really excited and made an imaginary metro map for Florence (IRL there’s no metro). But then I thought that I can do something really useful. A map for a real transport system that would be helpful, beautiful and clean. I have completely redesigned the Milan Metro Map. I have […]

Project: My Reworking of the New Sydney Trains Map

comments 2
Filed Under:
My Transit Maps, Tutorials, Unofficial Maps

Okay, I couldn’t help myself: I just had to redraw this thing to illustrate all the points I talked about earlier – correcting the obvious errors I discovered in my technical review, and also addressing the general thoughts of my initial post. So here it is: not a redesign, but a reworking of the design concept while working within the established principles of the official map. If you’re just starting out with designing transit maps, […]

Technical Review: New Sydney Trains Network Map

comment 1
Filed Under:
Tutorials

It seems that the draft Sydney Trains map that I posted about the other day is the real thing: printed timetables featuring it have been seen and scanned. So, I started looking at it again in order to write a proper review, when I started to notice a lot of little technical things that – as a designer – I found jarring and inconsistent. I opened the PDF file in Adobe Illustrator and began to […]

Historical Map: “Explore the Yorkshire Coast” Poster, c. 1950s

Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Historical Maps

Simply gorgeous mid-century poster designed for British Rail’s North Eastern Division by the prolific graphic artist, Reginald Lander (1913–1982). Yorkshire has never looked better, or so warm… look at all those people in bathing suits frolicking in the hot sun! The simplified map suits the angular design of the underlying painted scene perfectly, a real synthesis of design and art coming together as a cohesive whole. The section of line between Pickering and Whitby via […]

Future Map: FutureNYCSubway by Andrew Lynch

Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Future Maps

An updated look at my futureNYCSubway proposal using an expanded Vignelli map. More excellent work from Andrew Lynch (aka vanshnookenraggen) – this time, an astoundingly well-considered analysis of future plans for the New York Subway. The resultant map is quite beautiful as well, based as it is off Massimo Vignelli’s 2008/Weekender revision of his classic 1970s map. I strongly encourage you to click through to Andrew’s website and read the full rationale behind this map: […]

Historical Concept Map: Circular Berlin U- and S-Bahn Map, c.1990

Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Historical Maps

Circular transit diagrams are certainly all the rage at the moment. I’ve reviewed two different takes on London here and here, and Maxwell Roberts’ circular New York diagram is generating a lot of internet buzz at the moment. That’s not to say that it’s a completely new and original concept, however. Harry Beck tried his hand at a circular Underground diagram in 1964, and Berlin’s Ringbahn was abstracted into a perfect circle as far back […]

Unofficial Map: Dodecalinear Amsterdam Tram Map, by Joan Zalacain

Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Unofficial Maps

“Dodecalinear” is fancy designer-speak for a 30-degree grid: it refers to the fact that the route lines can be laid out in twelve directions instead of the eight allowed by a standard 45-degree or octolinear map. To put it in simpler terms: imagine six lines that pass through a central point – from that point, you can now travel in any of twelve directions. Technically, you can use any combination of opposing angles and still […]

Submission – Global Subway Spectrum by Nick Rougeux

Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Visualizations

Submitted by Nick, who says: I’ve been following your blog for a little while now and have really enjoyed your posts on transit maps – both familiar and completely new to me. I’ve recently become interested in different ways of looking at maps from a data standpoint. I’ve attached a screenshot of a project I just released that I thought you or your readers may enjoy. It’s not a map or diagram but it’s a […]

Update: More Process Work Behind the New Moscow Metro Map

Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Official Maps

As we reported late last month, the new Art Lebedev Studios Moscow Metro map is now in use around the system and on trains. One thing that the studio has been fantastic at right from the start is documenting the creative process, and they’re not finished yet. Over on their website is a wealth of behind the scenes information that shows how much work has been put into these beautiful maps. The map had to […]

BART’s “Official Unofficial” Map now on the Wikimedia Commons

Leave a comment
Filed Under:
Official Maps, Unofficial Maps

BART’s “Official Unofficial” Map now on the Wikimedia Commons For those Inkscape users, David Sindel has let me know that he’s converted BART’s Adobe Illustrator file to .svg and has uploaded the file to Wikimedia. Although the PNG preview looks kind of weird, David assures me that the actual .svg is fine.