I came across this lovely piece this morning on Twitter, so here’s a review. This is Andy’s second stab at Edinburgh (see also this map showing an “idealised” 1940s network), and I think it’s clear to see that Andy has come along in leaps and bounds as a map designer since then.

One thing I always appreciate about Andy’s maps is how tactile they seem: they really do look like old printed maps and that’s rather lovely. It’s not just the added “folded paper” texture, but also his colour and design choices that all add up to make his pieces seem so convincingly real. This map has already fooled a few people on Twitter into thinking it’s a real 1920s relic, which is a testament to his work!

Design-wise, I love the rings of route numbers at major stops – an effective device that Andy has borrowed from a real 1924 Edinburgh tram map, but also made very much his own. Overall, the layout is nicely handled and Andy’s even made all-caps labels work well, especially considering the amount of information displayed on the map – trams, buses, main line railways, etc. And it’s not just these lines as they appeared in 1924, either: Andy’s turned this map into a full historical document and also added lines that opened after 1924 (in a nicely-recessive yellow), and lines that were planned but never actually constructed. It does require a fair bit of consulting the legend to work out exactly what some of the lines mean, as different colours and line types combine to show information, but it’s all worthwhile in the end, I think.

Our final word: Stylish and very convincing, this is a great little historical diagram that documents a period in history when tramways dominated Edinburgh’s transportation. Great work, Andy!

Source: Andy Arthur/Twitter