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Unofficial new Berlin rapid transit route map

berlintransitmap.de

11–20 of 65 posts

Re: Unofficial new Berlin rapid transit route map

#11
post #3

I dislike how this map is presented as almost official. The author does not seem to have any relation to Berlin traffic authorities. This should be framed clearly as a proposal.

It specifically says it is not official toward the end of the article. It is very clearly framed as a proposal.

Re: Unofficial new Berlin rapid transit route map

#13
UI designers (or especially the ones that have blogs) seem highly susceptible to 2 common afflictions, which affect many people when they live for too long in their art:

-- Believing that fonts and lines can solve major world problems

-- Believing that anything they touch must've needed solving

I find it rare that a UI designer will say "that version of it is fine, and better than the additional complications I would introduce if I put my mind to it!"

Sure, there are some interesting aspects of this redesign. But let's not overstate faults of the old map that many people were just fine with for decades, to justify the need for a redesign.

You can even see the creator's belief in his own work's importance, as the last picture on the webpage shows he's actually posted the map without authorization in some subway car.

Re: Unofficial new Berlin rapid transit route map

#14
Why would you use curved lines, when they point in the wrong directions at the stations? For example Westkreuz and ICC stations should be mirrored vertically to have the correct orientation. The same for Schoeneberg etc...

Super confusing, the official map is a lot easier to read, at least it's clear that's an abstraction. If you need to locate stations on a real map just use their real map that shows all stops.

Re: Unofficial new Berlin rapid transit route map

#16
post #2

I certainly don't mind such experiments, but after living in Berlin for quite a while now, I still have to hear anyone complain about that the transit map is hard to read. I personally would even say that it's one of the easier ones I have used regularly (compare to Stuttgart for example, which is pretty cryptic due to the city's geography).

I lived in Berlin for a little less than a year. Coming from another city with a huge commuting infrastructure (NYC), I found the BVG's communication patterns to be comparatively pleasant: concise, accurate, and legible. I liked the original map a lot. Although, it's hard to bash the MTA too hard, here: there aren't many parts of Berlin that are as rail-dense as lower Manhattan.

Re: Unofficial new Berlin rapid transit route map

#17
Really sad how almost all the comments in this thread are negative.

As somebody who has lived in Berlin since 11 years, whilst having studied the official transit map and the big BVG physical map of berlin for hours:

This is a really great improvement over the official one it gives me a relieved kind of pleasure to look at. I can really feel how all those expectations from the physical map finally find a home in the abstraction. Oddly satisfying!

Re: Unofficial new Berlin rapid transit route map

#18
post #3

I dislike how this map is presented as almost official. The author does not seem to have any relation to Berlin traffic authorities. This should be framed clearly as a proposal.

It specifically says it is not official toward the end of the article. It is very clearly framed as a proposal.

99% of people will not read all the way to the end of the article and just assume it's official.

Re: Unofficial new Berlin rapid transit route map

#19
post #3

I dislike how this map is presented as almost official. The author does not seem to have any relation to Berlin traffic authorities. This should be framed clearly as a proposal.

It specifically says it is not official toward the end of the article. It is very clearly framed as a proposal.

It specifically says it’s “not yet” official. That’s a very distinct message; and, in the context of the wording on the rest of the site, it’s actively misleading.

Re: Unofficial new Berlin rapid transit route map

#20
As a first-time tourist to Berlin, I found the concept of "there is a circle line bisected by a north-south line and an east-west line" a super useful framework for hanging the rest of the network off. It's a shame this isn't reflected, in preference of a dog's head.
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