All posts tagged: graphic design

Transit Map Typefaces: Humanist Sans (Part 3 of 4)

March 8, 2013
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The third – and most diverse – category of sans serif typefaces is known as humanist sans. Compared to the grotesque and geometric categories, humanist sans typefaces almost calligraphic, with a natural variation in line weight and open characters that enhance legibility. With less “rules” to their construction, there’s a much greater variety of letter forms – meaning it’s easier to find a typeface that projects its own unique personality upon your map, which can […]

Transit Map Typefaces: Geometric Sans (Part 2 of 4)

March 6, 2013
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Geometric sans serif typefaces – as their name suggests – are based on geometrical shapes, especially circles for their “o”. Many of these typefaces have their roots in the 1920s and 1930s, and often reflect the Art Deco aesthetic of that period. Of the three sans serif categories, this is my least favourite for use on transit maps. Their rigid reliance on geometry makes them a little inflexible in use, and because many of the […]

Transit Map Typefaces: Grotesque Sans (Part 1 of 4)

March 6, 2013
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This series of posts is inspired by an anonymous poster, who requested some information on typography in transit map design. Almost without exception*, modern transit maps use sans serif typefaces for their labelling. Sans serif literally translates to English as “without [a] serif”, and denotes that the typeface does not have serifs: those little nubs at the top and bottom of characters that can help the eye follow large amounts of text. The practice of using […]

Photo: Vignelli NYC Subway Map – Street Grid

March 1, 2013
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An image from Massimo Vignelli’s recent talk at the New York Transit Museum about the development of his (in)famous diagram. The chance to hear Vignelli talk about his work really makes me wish that I lived in New York. Anyway, I find this image particularly interesting because it shows the underlying grid of streets and avenues that was used to place the route lines accurately. Although the map we see here appears to be the […]

Historical Map: 1970 NYMTA Graphics Standards Manual “Inside Line Map”

February 13, 2013
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Yummy excerpt from the Massimo Vignelli/Unimark 1970 style guide, showing style and dimensions for in-car strip maps, using the “E” line as an example. Look at how everything is defined precisely and consistently: there’s absolutely no room for misinterpretation here. Want to see more from the manual? Check out this great Flickr photoset. Source: Blue Pencil

Hand Drawn-Map of Japanese Rail System by Wyton Chu

February 7, 2013
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Okay, this is nothing short of amazing. Drawing a complex transit system map is hard enough, even with computers and the precise drawing/drafting tools they offer. To draw something like this by hand and have it look so clean and accurate beggars belief. Love love love. Click through to view a whole set of images of this remarkable piece on Flickr. Source: Flickr/chuwasg

The Design Process Behind the New Moscow Metro Map

February 4, 2013
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 As you may have heard by now, the Art Lebedev Studio entry will become the new official Moscow Metro map at the end of February. It beat out the other two entries convincingly, garnering 52% of the popular vote. Of particular interest to me, though, is the design process page for the map on their website: a fascinating look at the hard work and effort that goes into making a world-class transit map. Concepts are […]

Happy Birthday, Johnston and the London Underground

January 18, 2013
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Via typeworship: This week London sees the 150th anniversary of the London Underground. To commemorate the occasion a stream locomotive used in the 19th century made a journey through the modern tunnels of the Metropolitan line. See more on the BBC It is also 100 years since its iconic typeface Johnston Sans was released as the the ‘Underground’ typeface. Dan Rhatigan, type director at Monotype and forthcoming interviewee of 8 Faces talks about Edward Johnston and the typeface here.   The structured, based on a calligraphic nib held […]

Glorious Vintage London Underground Posters!

September 27, 2012
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theoinglis: “London Transport Museum holds over 5,000 posters and artworks in its archives and, on October 4, 2012, some 300 original London Underground advertising posters from its collection will be auctioned for sale through Christie’s South Kensington saleroom. Demand at the auction is likely to be high but if you can’t afford an original, reprints of the images shown here are available through the London Transport Museum shop. You can see more of the posters for sale on […]

A Kid’s View of the New York Subway by Erin Jang

July 12, 2012
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I’ve always loved this one-off poster by designer/illustrator Erin Jang. Designed specifically to showcase her three-year-old nephew’s favourite places in New York, it’s a fantastic example of pitch-perfect design: bright, bold and colourful with whimsical illustrations balancing the geometric route lines.