Transit Maps of the World: Every Urban Train Map on Earth

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The book, for all its geeky pleasure, is not serendipitous. After such richly detailed early zones, the latter zones feel included simply for the tagline across the front cover: “The World’s First Collection of Every Urban Train Map on Earth.” It drags once you understand the transit map’s history and trajectory. Even Ovenden has to devise creative ways to say the same thing over and over. While seeming like a straightforward collection of transit maps for systems throughout the planet, this book is a broader look at the art of designing maps (& transit systems) for optimal wayfinding. The colorful assembly of squiggly lines into an aid for navigating [mostly] rail systems - in this book - is more than an exercise in aesthetics or accurate displays of a select topography.

A great first effort here from Elliot! I’d say that its arguably more successful that the official SNCB/NMBS diagram, which is a pretty staid and old-fashioned thing. However, while the official diagram shows all the other rail modes in the greater Brussels area, Elliot’s version only shows the S-Train lines. This makes the diagram much cleaner, though perhaps at the expense of understanding how it fits into the complete transit picture. A fabulous collection. These maps are almost works of art, and can kindle a remembrance of a past trip or a dream of a future journey.” Transit Maps of the World: The World's First Collection of Every Urban Train Map on Earth Publishing EPUB Kara’s right about the “stretched” transfer stations at Exchange Place and Newport, though – those are just lovely. And the PATH lines are dealt with fairly deftly as well: obviously subsidiary to the Hudson-Bergen lines, but visible enough to show the interconnection between the two systems. I’m not sure that “PATH” needs to be emblazoned on the lines three times, though… once is probably enough to be understood. Visually, I really like the treatment of the terminus stations, though I do wonder whether their similarity to the fare zone boundaries could be potentially confusing to readers – are these stations in some sort of special fare zone? Speaking of the zone boundaries, I’d like to see these simplified down further, reducing their shapes to the purest form possible to echo the rigid simplicity of the route lines.I teased this in yesterday’s review of the new official UTA diagram, so here’s my exploration of a few design ideas for an alternative version. As always with this type of project, I look for ways to approach the design problems for the diagram that are intentionally different to the official one. We already know what those solutions look like, so I like to explore the untested and see what happens. Some things work really well, others perhaps not so much… so let’s take a look! Transit Maps of the World is the first and only comprehensive collection of historic and current maps of every rapid-transit system on earth. Using glorious, colorful graphics, Mark Ovenden traces the history of mass transit-including rare and historic maps, diagrams, and photographs, some available for the first time since their original publication. Transit Maps is the graphic designer's new bible, the transport enthusiast's dream collection, and a coffee-table essential for everyone who's ever traveled in a city.

At the (extremely cool) Bergenline Avenue station, [my partner and I] stumbled across this official map that I’d never seen before, depicting both the HBLR and the PATH! It was actually all over that station, and it’s definitely a relatively old map, because we also found a slightly different version (that matched the usual map by depicting the weekday-only line with a dashed stroke) that was dated to 2015. A beautifully illustrated study of the plans that help passengers navigate the world’s metropolitan railway systems.” I might've appreciated more Edward Tufte-like analysis of how much data is being conveyed by the presence [or absence] of ink, but this was still an incredible book to find. If you travel like the locals, like maps, or pay attention to graphic design, have yourself a gander at Mark Ovenden's fine work.It’s not quite clear who added the hand drawn elements to the map: the O&CB was a privately-run company, but the base map was drawn by city engineers. Text that reads “Exhibit No. 7” down the bottom right suggests that this is one of a series of maps, either about the streetcar system, or the city as a whole. A report to City Council? One thing is certain: the draftsmanship is meticulous in its execution, and the lettering used is superb! Transit Maps of the World: The World's First Collection of Every Urban Train Map on Earth Publishing E-BOOK Online I’ve discovered a love for oversized coffee table books. Unwieldy troves of trivia, in them novelty wins. I’d buy one browse it for a couple months. They’re books to enjoy slowly, over time, digesting niblets of facts on some geeky, specialized subject. Mark Ovenden’s Transit Maps of the World fills this niche, it makes the journey worthwhile.