Designing Transit Maps
Interactive book
Introducing a new book released by Bureau Gorbunov Publishing—a practigal guide to transit map design. The book speaks of transit map history, important principles of their design, and how they evolve together with their networks. The author talks about techniques: plotting the lines, denoting the stops, choosing the fonts, and composing the final poster.
Not many designers have an occasion to design a subway map. But the principles and techniques discussed are applicable to any tasks of complex information display: org charts, family trees, control‑flow diagrams, fire escape plans, project timelines, military battle schemes, architectural drawings. The books sharpens the reader’s eye and inculcates attention to detail.
Circuit drawings are beautiful in their own way, but they immediately tell the reader: “I’m for the pros”. This is not an option for public information graphics. A designer has to untangle complex ties, find the best way to represent key objects, correctly position the captions. No matter how sophisticated the material is, it’s crucial to achieve clarity and legibility in display. Transit maps are a great subject to develop this skill.
Art director of Bureau Gorbunov, information design teacher at Bureau Gorbunov Intern School
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Contents
The challenge
Map and reality
The first transit maps
Transit map diversity
Map as a symbol
Searching for the solution
Test
The principle
Correspondence between lines and routes
Color coding
Geometry
Orientation
Scope
Precision
Exceptions
Test
The layout
Grapheme
Graphical rhythm
Format
Test
The details
Line styles
Bundles
Bends
Stations and stops
Transfers and connections
The city: streets, parks, ponds, landmarks
Labels
Pictograms
Test
The system
Multiple formats
Index and coordinate grid
Line diagrams
Variability: scenario, passenger, language
Changes in the network
Designing for the future
Interactive maps
Test
We have radically reconsidered the format of a digital book
Before
Existing e‑books stand far from high standards of paper book publishing. Typography is poor, navigation and search is inconvenient. The layout and fonts are not controlled by authors and publishers. E‑books like these are randomly divided into screen pages: each time you open them, the same illustration may appear at the top, bottom, or even on the next page. On tablets, the pages get mixed up because of an accidental device rotation.
After
The bureau’s interactive book combines the convenience of scrolling and visuality of a paper book. It is divided into spreads that you can scroll through from beginning to end. The text on the spread may be scrolled when necessary, while the illustrations retain their position on the screen. The reader can easily remember the location of an idea in the book and return to it later. Spread is a semantic unit rather than the result of mathematical division of the book into “screens”.
The book on the screen
An interactive scrolling‑driven user interface creates a reading experience impossible with a paper book. The reader intuitively controls the change of illustrations or even a gradual redesign of given interface examples, going back or skipping steps as they like.
Bureau Gorbunov Publishing has established in‑house typographic standards for interactive books similar to or even more stringent than those in conventional print publishing.
Test your knowledge
In paper books, “end‑of‑chapter questions” cause bewilderment and irritation. Interactive tests, on the contrary, encourage readers to apply their knowledge to illustrated examples and find out the result instantly.
Examples for everything
‘Designing Transit Maps’ is an everyday handbook and a well‑organized techniques catalog.
Macro and micro
The books covers the topics from the most general to the smallest detail:
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About the book
Ilya Birman
Artem Gorbunov
Vladimir Kolpakov
Rustam Kulmatov
Vasiliy Polovnyov
Maria Popova
Yuri Mazursky
Andrei Eres
Sergey Frolov
Alan Kadzhaev
Namor Votilav
Nikita Scherbakov
Vitaly Tezyaev
Contact us: books@artgorbunov.ru