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London Tube map redesigned by Essex lecturer goes viral

bbc.co.uk

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Re: London Tube map redesigned by Essex lecturer goes viral

#21

Post by PaulRobinson »

Not sure I enjoy it. It's aesthetically pleasing at first, but then it just annoys me.

All maps have problems with representing distance and space in a 2D form, but this become a little absurd. As an artistic experiment I'd give him a pass except he explicitly said:

"Let's get the geography as well because, with maps, shapes and geography are important. Let's try to make my map better than TfL in every way".

He then absolutely butchers the geography in terms of relative or absolute position, changes the shape of the Thames in weird and unfamiliar ways and makes it hard to reason about distances in many cases (Note: don't try and walk from Richmond to East Putney, as it's a lot further than it looks on that map: about half the distance (4.9mi) from Richmond to Farringdon (10.3mi).

I understand why maps get redesigned into different forms, and generally I love it if you're communicating a new idea about distance, space, or some other data point. But I don't really get what the idea behind this is other than "circles".

Re: London Tube map redesigned by Essex lecturer goes viral

#22

Post by andrybak »

latexr wrote: post #5

> He added: "I also thought, 'Let's get the geography as well because, with maps, shapes and geography are important. Funny. I remember watching a design documentary years ago where they made the exact opposite point: subway maps were trying to get the geography right but that became unwieldy and confusing, so the epiphany was that connections mattered more than the geography. That the way people were using the maps…

> I remember watching a design documentary years ago

Was it Map Men? They mention not forcing the London tube map onto the geographical map. It has two parts:

1. "The Tube Map nearly looked very different" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTLCfl01zuE

2. "What went wrong with the Tube Map?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaEhvWXmLyk

Re: London Tube map redesigned by Essex lecturer goes viral

#23

Post by bloopernova »

I really like it. I am not sure if it's any easier or more difficult than the current map, and I was able to trace a route from Waterloo to Walthamstow Central easily.

Possibly because I grew up taking the tube at least once a week and became used to the original map, but this one was straightforward to follow. I find it much more aesthetically pleasing than the original.

I wouldn't use this or the original to plan any kind of walking around London. I'd use a real A-Z or whatever to do that.

Re: London Tube map redesigned by Essex lecturer goes viral

#24

Post by latexr »

tialaramex wrote: post #18
latexr wrote: post #5

> He added: "I also thought, 'Let's get the geography as well because, with maps, shapes and geography are important. Funny. I remember watching a design documentary years ago where they made the exact opposite point: subway maps were trying to get the geography right but that became unwieldy and confusing, so the epiphany was that connections mattered more than the geography. That the way people were using the maps…

The Tube map is roughly geographic. Amersham really is North West of London. Waterloo really is South of the river. It doesn't try to preserve the geographic integrity you'd need for say, a walking map but it also isn't willing to just put a station where it would fit best aesthetically despite being completely wrong for geography.

> where it would fit best aesthetically

It’s not an aesthetic decision, it’s a practical one juggling space constraints and clarity.

Where I live we have both: the main maps are non-geographic, and that allows them to be placed in several locations including the trains themselves. Geographic maps do exist, but take so much space they are only displayed at certain points in certain stations.

You can get either online.

Re: London Tube map redesigned by Essex lecturer goes viral

#25

Post by latexr »

kqr wrote: post #17
latexr wrote: post #5

> He added: "I also thought, 'Let's get the geography as well because, with maps, shapes and geography are important. Funny. I remember watching a design documentary years ago where they made the exact opposite point: subway maps were trying to get the geography right but that became unwieldy and confusing, so the epiphany was that connections mattered more than the geography. That the way people were using the maps…

I'll never forget the day I thought I might change from one station to the next by walking, because they were right next to each other on the metro map – only to discover they were actually a couple of miles apart. Or the time a relative visiting the city took the wrong train because when they needed to go north, the metro map showed northbound trains as eastbound in that area. I think there is a compromise to be mad…

That is a good map. It is also, crucially, so very much simpler than the London Underground one. At a certain point that stops being as feasible.

Re: London Tube map redesigned by Essex lecturer goes viral

#26

Post by jonhohle »

PaulRobinson wrote: post #21

Not sure I enjoy it. It's aesthetically pleasing at first, but then it just annoys me. All maps have problems with representing distance and space in a 2D form, but this become a little absurd. As an artistic experiment I'd give him a pass except he explicitly said: "Let's get the geography as well because, with maps, shapes and geography are important. Let's try to make my map better than TfL in every way". He then…

I agree with everything you said. This isn’t what I would want to plan a route or get my bearings.

However, it may be a reasonable logical representation which could have benefits for determine relationships. Logical maps have their place. We don’t complain that a device tree doesn’t show me _where_ in the computer storage is relative to say USB ports, just how things are connected. I can monitor my solar panels using a physical representation or logical representation. If there was a problem I’d start with the logical to identify the device that failed and what is affected and then switch to the physical to know where to fix.

Re: London Tube map redesigned by Essex lecturer goes viral

#27

Post by PaulRobinson »

BrandoElFollito wrote: post #7

"The London Underground map is one of the most recognisable in the world" Why? How is it more recognizable that, say, the Paris one? Or New York? EDIT: Since there are down votes, I will clarify my question do that we do not jump into underground nationalism: I was looking for unique features that make it recognizable. As I mentioned in a comment: the ~~Peru~~ (EDIT: Nepal) flag is unique, this recognizable for insta…

The "classic" Harry Beck London tube map is widely considered by design experts to be a masterpiece of map design, and it appears in design contexts, not just in the context of a map on the tube.

Over time this has caused TfL to attract people interested in designing for users of public transport, and they created a design system that is now licensed, and they do consultancy, so you will see "TfL style" design in other cities. The tube "roundel", map and advertising poster archive is all considered key commercial IP assets.

Many other public transport entities try to mimic TfL as a result, either by licensing directly (Dublin buses do this IIRC), or trying to look a bit similarly abstract and "clean" but with their own vibe. Weirdly this just makes the TfL design system even more recognisable to some people.

Another transport related design system from the UK that's worth looking into if you are interested in such things is the road signage system that was overhauled in the 1960s. It also highly regarded in the international design community: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15990443

Re: London Tube map redesigned by Essex lecturer goes viral

#29

Post by latexr »

andrybak wrote: post #22
latexr wrote: post #5

> He added: "I also thought, 'Let's get the geography as well because, with maps, shapes and geography are important. Funny. I remember watching a design documentary years ago where they made the exact opposite point: subway maps were trying to get the geography right but that became unwieldy and confusing, so the epiphany was that connections mattered more than the geography. That the way people were using the maps…

> I remember watching a design documentary years ago Was it Map Men? They mention not forcing the London tube map onto the geographical map. It has two parts: 1. "The Tube Map nearly looked very different" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTLCfl01zuE 2. "What went wrong with the Tube Map?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaEhvWXmLyk

> Was it Map Men?

It was not. I saw it maybe a decade ago and those are a year old. It was also not a YouTube documentary. I might give that one a watch, though.

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