3/16/2023 0 Comments Metro map designer![]() The answer is yes, if you choose the right design rules. Did you like working with this transit map in particular? You’ve made a few versions of the MBTA map. Every network is different, and needs different design rules to show it off at its best. The New York circles design was quicker for me to create even though the system is more complicated. I also found the Boston concentric circles map a real struggle the network fought me all the way on that one. Unusually, the city doesn’t really need horizontal or vertical lines-slight tilts result in something that is much more comfortable and not particularly geographically distorting. The loops need a lot of thought so that they make intuitive sense. That part of the design takes almost as long as configuring the lines. The coast and rivers need a lot of work to simplify them and yet keep them looking convincing. What other differences were there between working on Boston’s transit map compared with New York’s? Why are New Yorkers so sensitive to distortion, and Bostonians apparently indifferent? So, I decided to take a look at the Boston network, and see whether I could create something with nice simple line trajectories, good shape, all the Green Line stops, and less distortion. Then I about the Boston Subway map competition, and I was astonished at the winner, one of the most geographically distorting transit maps in the USA. I’ve designed a number of maps for New York, and while it is clear that a lot of people there yearn for something more organized than the current official NYC Subway map, a sizable chunk of people get really, really upset at the idea of any geographic distortion at all. With all the different subway maps around the world, what drew you to Boston’s? nothing magic about the way that London does it. As long as the five criteria above are satisfied, the design rules don’t really matter. These angles do not work well for Paris, where simple line trajectories are impossible. The traditional London Henry Beck design rules of horizontal, vertical, and 45-degree diagonals is a good example. Within this framework, every city is different, and what works well in one case might not work for another. I am trying to evolve a framework for effective design based on the following criteria: simplicity, coherence, harmony,, balance, and. I create my own designs and submit them to usability tests, in which I ask people to locate stations and plan journeys. I’ve been researching transit map history and design for over 10 years now. We talked with Roberts about his latest undertaking to find out what made working on the lines that connect Boston’s city points different from the other maps he’s completed. With all of the time spent examining the T’s network, he said it’s finally time to move on to other projects. Roberts has presented nine Boston designs so far, but there are 13 completed, with several more to come. The result is a series of diagrammatic representations that transform the T’s model into a concentric circle, and tetralinear and octolinear shapes. After seeing the result of the MBTA’s recent map redesign contest, Roberts used his methodology and design process to construct his own unofficial maps. His most recent obsession has been contorting Boston’s MBTA map by applying a set of principles based on topography, precise angular structure, and coherence.
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