Here’s a quick link to an article in the Washington Post by Martine Powers about a study that shows how tinkering with Washington, DC’s Metrorail map influences rider’s perceptions of the system and which path they should take to reach their final destination. In the image above, for example, the Blue Line has been altered to look less desirable than the Yellow Line when coming into DC from the south… and in testing, there was […]
Submitted by Xsanda, who says: Over the Christmas break I was inspired by your E-Road Network Map, and wanted to create my own map. I chose the Asian Highway Network, a similar system to the E-Road network, as there seemed to be very few maps of the whole network, and the only ones I could find were either too high-level or too vast to easily read. This is my take on the network. However, one […]
Submitted by Henry, who says: I stumbled upon this diagram of MTA services available from the MTA. While the general positioning of the lines looks like it’s very clean and has very good bones, the small design decisions (like the shape of transfer points to subway and commuter rail, the rail tickmarks, etc.) make this map feel very cheap and tacky. Transit Maps says: I’m not really feeling this map at all, Henry… not the […]
Submitted by Sergey, who also drew my attention to the recently-revised schematic for the entire Moscow Metro as well. However, this new strip map for the Central Circle Line really caught my eye, as it’s a fascinating approach to solving a very difficult problem: how do you concisely show a loop line (with a lot of stations!) in the narrow confines of a railcar strip map? ArtLebedev’s solution is to view the circular line from […]
Submitted by sailsandrails, who says: I’ve been meaning to ask you this for a while: what is your opinion of the original styling of Helsinki’s Metro map? (Photo taken from this site, unfortunately I couldn’t find a better one). After several revisions, the current version looks like this, which is more international in style. Personally, I think the original is surprisingly readable while being pleasantly unique in style, but I’d love to hear your thoughts. […]
I’ve long admired this beautiful 1954 flow diagram of subway service into Manhattan during the morning peak hour, so I set myself the personal challenge of recreating it using modern design tools (Adobe Illustrator) while still staying true to the original principles of the map. While it was certainly possible to just trace the source material in Illustrator with the pen tool and end up with a decent facsimile of the original, there’s really nothing to […]
Submitted by Cullen, who says: A few months back you answered a question of mine with some tips for preparing artwork for inkjet printing. Everything printed great, so thanks again for your help! Thought you might enjoy seeing the finished map. Transit Maps says: I always say that if you’re going to do an “in the style of” map, you should aim to replicate the source as closely as possible. That’s how you learn what made […]
Well, this is a bit of a mess, isn’t it? It looks like the map’s designers have attempted to represent the network isometrically, with the city’s grand avenues surrounding the historical central core. However, the whole thing’s just so darn busy that the attempted illusion just doesn’t work. Almost every part of the map is filled with something: labels, logos, clip art, photos of landmarks, even randomly-placed pictures of trams! I’m guessing that the map […]
Submitted by Anthony, who says: You reviewed my map of the Long Island Rail Road a few years ago. Your critiques and your blog have helped me in pushing forward on my current project, a unified Subway and Bus Map, I’m calling it the Bullet Map, named after the nickname for the circle subway route indicators. I launched it a month ago with a Medium post explaining methodology. What do you think of it? Transit Maps says: Anthony’s actually been keeping […]
A charmingly simple – almost naive – diagram of Budapest’s then three-line Metro as included in a fold-out city map brochure. The rippling water pattern for the rivers is rather lovely, as is the simple but effective three-circle depiction of the main interchange at Deák tér. The use of large train and ferry icons to depict transportation interchanges is a little vague: the icons are large enough to span between some stations, or are placed […]
