All posts tagged: typography

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

March 4, 2016
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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 […]

Submission – Official Map: Transportes Sul Do Tejo Bus Routes, Portugal, 2015

October 12, 2015
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Submitted by Miles Taylor, who says: Here’s the system “diagram” of the TST bus system south of Lisbon in Portugal. It’s impossible to tell what any of the routes are since they’re all just blue lines zigzagging across the map. Not to mention the place names are in comic sans. Ugh. Transit Maps says: The only – and I do mean only – saving grace for this map is that it appears on the same web […]

Video: New Wayfinding Signage and Map for the Montreal Metro!

October 2, 2015
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Sent my way by Patrick and Steve, here’s a short video from Montreal’s STM agency explaining the new wayfinding system that’s starting to be rolled out across the Metro system. The major talking point (for me, at least) is the replacement of Univers with FF Transit as the system’s main typeface. It’s a very complementary choice, and I doubt most people would even notice the difference in passing. However, I think there’s definitely enhanced legibility, […]

Official Map: Portland Streetcar, 2015

September 17, 2015
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Amidst all the hoopla surrounding the opening of the new MAX light rail Orange Line, it’s easy to forget that Portland’s streetcar is now also running over the new Tilikum Crossing bridge. They’ve taken this opportunity to rework their system map to bring it more in line with their new branding – check out the rather nice new logo at the top left of the map, which doesn’t look half bad on the streetcars themselves. […]

Submission – Historical Map: The Routes of Imperial Airways and of Associated Companies, 1936

September 15, 2015
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Submitted by Mattias Lq, who says: I know how you don’t like many airway maps trying to be schematic, but this one is a rather successful combination of a simplified geographical map and a schematic inset showing frequencies throughout the year. Although it has some minor beauty flaws here and there, it is really a beautiful map, especially considering the five colours used to print the map! What do you say? Transit Maps says: Mattias, […]

Reader Question: What’s Your Opinion of Pablo Impallari’s Cabin Font?

April 22, 2015
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Question: What’s your opinion of Pablo Impallari’s Cabin font? The first time I saw it it screamed “transit map” at me, and I’m curious to know what you think. Answer: Seeing as the author’s own description of the typeface says this… The Cabin Font is a humanist sans inspired by Edward Johnston’s and Eric Gill’s typefaces… … I think that it would probably qualify as a fine wayfinding/transit map typeface just by pedigree alone. More Johnston […]

Project: Prototype U.S. Highways Shield (1926), Digital Recreation

December 14, 2014
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While doing research for my recent 1947 Interstate Highways map recreation, I stumbled across some scans of American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) road sign specifications dated from the 1920s. The very first page has a dimensioned drawing of the then brand new U.S. Highways shield that I find extremely interesting, as it doesn't quite match the the shield as it actually first appeared on real world signage in 1927.

Project: 1947 Map of Interstate Highways, Digital Recreation

December 10, 2014
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Historical Maps, Prints Available
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Having found and digitally restored the fantastic 1926 map of the U.S. Highway system, I started to look around to see if I could find a similar map from the advent of the newer Interstate Highway network. However, all my usual sources came up with either nothing or only low resolution scans -- certainly nothing suitable for reproduction. So, what's a map-obsessed graphic designer to do in this situation? Why, redraw the whole thing faithfully from scratch in Adobe Illustrator, of course!

Submission – Tutorial: Changing the Background Colour of a Text Box

February 12, 2014
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Graphic Fix: Change Background Color of Text Box in Illustrator Problem: My Kentucky Ave label overlaps with objects below it, resulting in a cluttered appearance. Turns out, there is a super easy fix for something like this! Create the Area Text (text box). Select the Area Text with the Direct Selection Tool (white arrow).  In the Appearance panel select desired background fill color and adjust Transparency to your heart’s content.  Your labels should now look […]

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 […]