This map has actually been out for a while, but today – celebrating the full opening of the Central Subway – seemed like the appropriate day to post about it. Design-wise, this is very much an evolution of previous efforts (see my review of the post-COVID resumption of service map here) and thus shares many of the same features and faults. I still don’t agree with the decision to have station labels set in the […]
In which I finally make a video tutorial because the amount of screenshots needed to explain this would have been ridiculous. Let me know what you think; there may be more video tutorial content in the future! Pros: Does what it says it will, fairly intuitive to work with. Cons: Messes with your layer structure, any normal layout edits after applying Intertwine are trickier. Overall: Tough to see how it provides a benefit over the […]
I came across this on YouTube the other day, and thought it was definitely worth sharing. It’s quite long (clocking in at well over an hour if you include the Q&A session at the end), but there’s a lot of great insight into both the history of the MBTA map, and of Ken’s personal journey designing the map over the years. Of particular interest is how the whole redesign via a crowd-sourced contest a few […]
Submitted by Travis, who says: I made an animated visualization of the light rail infrastructure of San Francisco from 1850–to–nowish. I was wondering if you would be interested in posting! Transit Maps says: I sure would be, Travis! This is a great 15-minute video that succinctly outlines the rise and fall of rail-based street transit in San Francisco, Oakland and even Marin County. The sheer number of competing companies in the early years is quite […]
All transit maps should have their own cool launch video! And this one certainly makes the map look very intriguing, with its more geographically faithful and organic layout. The distinctive Hundekopf (dog’s head) shape of the S41/S42 Berlin Ringbahn is certainly very apparent! The larger font size is also quite obvious, even at a distance. The only minor quibble I have about this video is that it calls this map “THE new map”, contrasting that against “the […]
Found on the band’s official YouTube channel, though I don’t think it’s the song’s actual official music video: that would be this one. The song – from R.E.M.’s last studio album, Collapse Into Now – literally references Berlin and the U-Bahn, but isn’t anything remarkable by the band’s high standards, and the motion graphics are fairly average as well. However, I will give them full credit for using FF Transit – the typeface actually designed […]
Ah, the Quality Street box of chocolates and toffees – a perennial Christmas gift from grandparents throughout the UK, Australia and elsewhere. Their brightly coloured wrappers lend themselves well to this little project: a recreation of the London Tube map made from individual chocolates laid end to end. Yes, it’s all a silly bit of festive fun, but there is actually some insight into the current state of the map when they’re laying out the […]
Just a couple of glimpses of the subway map at the beginning, but I still love this short video featuring the stations of the New York Subway and the people who pass through it every day. Having just returned from a trip to the Big Apple, I wish I had the ability to capture the lifeblood of the city as well as this. Source: Snowday/Vimeo
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, […]
Submitted by Jakub Bobrowski, who says: This is a short film made using the QGIS and TimeManager, which presents the development process of rail public transport in Warsaw in the last 107 years. The animation shows the construction and decommissioning of tram tracks, underground, Warsaw Commuter Railway (WKD) and Fast City Rail (SKM) between 1908 and 2015. Additionally, the map showing a riverbed of the Vistula River and the changing administrative borders of Warsaw. This […]
