Fantasy Map: Columbus, Ohio Light Rail by Michael Tyznik

It’s been a good week for fantasy maps here on Transit Maps. Hot on the heels of the superb Freshwater Rail map comes this beauty from Michael Tyznik of his hometown of Columbus, Ohio. There’s an undoubted Massimo Vignelli 1970s New York Subway map vibe to this - Michael told me that this project actually began as an update of that map, but then morphed into another city altogether - but it still manages to look fresh and new, thanks to some subtle touches like updating the ubiquitous “subway map” geometric sans font with Akzidenz Grotesq and Gotham Black. If you have time, I’d definitely pay a visit to the map’s project page on Michael’s website where you can see the progression of his thoughts on transit in Columbus - from a fairly generic and bland concept that looks like it could be any city in the world, through an elegant-looking light rail system that utilises existing freight-rail right-of-ways, to this (final?) considered and intelligent piece.

Have we been there? No.

What we like: Looks great! The concept also looks plausible (to the eyes of someone who has never been to Columbus, at least!), and the amount of thought put into this map really shows.

The blocking out of localities is something that could look heavy-handed and forced, but comes across quite well. It definitely gives context to the routes. The dashed line treatment for the express routes is quite beautifully done: I especially like how there’s a neat little box around stations where the dash doesn’t show. Adding street names along the streetcar routes is a nice usability touch, especially when the routes convert from light rail to streetcar, reinforcing the differences between the services offered by the two modes.

What we don’t like: I’d like to see more differentiation between local and express stations than just whether the name is set in bold or regular text. I don’t think that this is enough of a visual clue for a transit map by itself - maybe a black station dot for express, and a white one for local could work.

While I understand why individual stops on the streetcar lines aren’t shown (stops are closer together and thus “beneath” the scale of this map), I think it would be useful to indicate where transfers between light rail and streetcar can be made. Examples of this include the 2, 3 and 4 where they cross the light rail lines at Union Station, the 2 and 3 at Morse Road on the “A” line, and the 3 at Easton/Stelzer Road on the “E” line. A simple line linking the lines may be enough to indicate that a transfer can be made.

Apart from these thoughts, there’s just a couple of minor quibbles: some of the rounded edges on the localities don’t seem to nest well with the curves of the river (look at the north east corner of Franklinton, for example), the letter designation circles for the “A” line are a different blue to the line itself (C75 M33 Y1 K0 compared to C67 M35 Y2 K0), and the gaps at the directional arrows in the one-way sections of the streetcar routes area a little wide for my liking.

Our rating: Excellent. Well-considered and thought out, stylish and attractive. A couple of usability issues that can be easily corrected. Thanks for sharing your map with us, Michael. 4 stars!

(Source: Michael’s website)

Fantasy Map: Freshwater Railway, Detroit and Southeast Michigan

This map has to be part of the most convincing fantasy transit system I have ever seen. As well as this stylish and distinctive map, there’s an entire website, complete with additional bus maps, timetables and more. I’ll also note here that the website design puts most transit agencies to shame…

If you weren’t familiar with Detroit, you’d be forgiven for thinking this was real (I kind of wonder how many tourists have been tricked into thinking this system exists). It’s only when you realise that the trains “depart” from the derelict Michigan Central Station (which is also Freshwater Rail’s business address), that the elaborate hoax is revealed.

Have we been there? Yes, to visit my father-in-law. He lives in South Lyon and works at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, so he’d still have to drive to work unless the connections were remarkably good…

What we like: Attractive and distinctive map, based on 30-degree angles instead of the usual 45. It’s nice to see a map that forges its own identity and is not afraid to look different, even if it’s not real. The pastel route lines with their thick black borders are surprisingly effective, and together with the typeface chosen (Brandon Grotesque), create a lovely Art Deco feel to the whole map. Part of a greater, entirely cohesive whole - this is seriously impressive work.

What we don’t like: Not entirely in favour of the type angled up at 60 degrees, as I feel it makes the map harder to read, but acknowledge that it suits the design aesthetic of the map quite well.

Our rating: Astounding. 5 stars!

(Source: Freshwater Railway website - WARNING: EXTREMELY CONVINCING!)

Cute.

(Source: rekno)

yieldmedia:

Here are the ways to my heart… Happy Valentine’s Day!

Awwwwwww! Sweet!

Fantasy Map: Chicago El Overlaid On New York City

A bit of whimsy for you today from Reddit, brought to my attention by Twitter user @GordonWerner. The El has been flipped both horizontally and vertically, then rotated to fit Manhattan’s street grid, but the scaling is totally accurate. It looks like The Loop is placed in the area directly below Central Park. A few things from this: it’s actually kind of scary how well this fits; and it’s astounding just how dense the New York subway’s lines really are (shown here in white).

(Source: Reddit)

Fantasy Map: Deutsche Bahn ICE Network as a U-Bahn Map

Clever work here from the German office of Ogilvy Advertising, taking the familiar iconography of a typical German-styled U-Bahn map and applying it - and its associated promises of rapid, frequent service - to the Germany-wide ICE (high-speed train) network.

My only problem with this work is that the shape of the network bears little resemblance to Germany itself, probably because of the landscape format of the bilboard.

(Source: Viralbuzz.de and Design Made in Germany)

Fantasy Map: Appalachian Trail Subway

From Stonebrown Design comes this clever “subway” map of the famous Appalachian Trail, a hiking path that stretches some 2,200 miles from Georgia to Maine. Normally confined to detailed topographical maps, here it has been simplified to its very basic elements - a path, stops along the way and state lines. Clever work.

Have we been there? No, but I have a friend who thru-hiked the whole trail and loved every second of it.

What we like: Clever adaptation of the familiar subway iconography for a very different purpose. Especially like the clarification between on-trail and off-trail “stops”, an important distinction for hikers.

What we don’t like: Not a huge amount to dislike. Even the angled text - my usual pet peeve - works well in this instance, allowing text to sit cleanly within each relevant state. Hikers might complain that it doesn’t give any indication of elevation: I’ve heard some of those mountains along the way are a hard slog!

Our rating: Clever and witty reworking of standard subway design and iconography. They aren’t selling posters of this yet, but they really should be. Four stars.

(Source: Stonebrown Design website)

Fantasy Map: Vignelli-Style New York Subway Ampersand

It’s NYC day here at Transit Maps! This impressive work by Pentagram’s Luke Hayman for Amsterdam-based interior design magazine Eigen Huis & Interieur combines their masthead ampersand with Massimo Vignelli’s subway map. Created for the magazine’s New York issue, the map’s “stations” represent New York design icons, people and institutions. Visit Pentagram’s page about the work for more details: you can even download a poster-sized PDF of the map.

Our rating: Awesome! Five stars!

Fantasy Map: The Oregon Trail

Nicely done fantasy map showing the route of the famous Oregon Trail. Very much in the style of H.C. Beck’s famous London Underground diagram, but with some lovely humorous touches.

Have we been there? Kind of. Living in Oregon means I’ve driven along long stretches of the old trail. Wish I could catch the train there, though.

What we like: Lovely homage to the original source, fantastic sense of humour - “hire Indian for safe passage”, ha!

What we don’t like: The rivers just end, looking like big blue sausages. It’s The Dalles, not Dalles. Doesn’t tell me where I’m likely to get dysentery or break a wagon wheel.

Our rating: four stars

(Source: guydouglas)