Designing Transit Maps
Interactive book
Introducing a new book released by Bureau Gorbunov Publishing—a practical guide to transit map design. The book speaks of transit maps 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.
Few 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, military operation plans, project timelines, architectural drawings. The book 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. The designer has to untangle complex ties, find the best way to represent key objects, correctly position the labels. 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
Contents
The challenge
Map and reality
The first transit maps
Transit map diversity
Map as a symbol
Finding a solution
Test
The principle
Correspondence between lines and routes
Color coding
Geometry
Orientation
Scope
Granularity
Freedom
Test
The layout
Grapheme
Texture
Rhythm
Format
Test
The details
Lines
Bundles
Bends
Stops
Terminals
Transfers
Directions
Fare zones
Labels: positioning, typesetting, eyetracking
Symbols
The city: streets, parks, ponds, landmarks
Excellence
Test
The system
Variability: media, scenario, passenger, language
Index and coordinate grid
Line diagrams
Changes in the network
Electronic maps
Standardization
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:
Readers’ reviews
An outstanding, stunning, mind‑blowing book! You’d think, how many of us would really design transit maps in life? But this book is not about transit maps. I mean, it surely is, but that’s not the point. It is about attention to details and the design approach in general.
Even Edward Tufte’s book didn’t get me that excited. And it’s saying something. After reading Birman’s book, It feels like you become a better person. I don't know how it works. I sincerely recommend it to everyone, it’s a must read. Just a great example of a modern book.
Even Tufte didn’t get me that excited
The book on map design is like you are seven years old and you walk into an interactive science and technology museum in Stockholm or wherever. Once you enter, you can’t stop browsing.
The book really boosts your aesthetic sense, subtly opens your eyes to a lot of cool facts and leaves a pleasant mark in your soul. As for professional designers, it’s a must‑read.
Can’t stop browsing
Those who are interested in maps, diagrams, metro, and all kinds of information design probably already know about this book and bought it long ago—there aren’t many resources on this topic. However I will recommend the book to those who don’t care about maps that much, but who likes good design and human‑made systems.
First, the book shows how a minor task—just a subway map in a train car, no big deal!—can be complex, time‑consuming, and profound. People have been researching this topic for decades, just to connect the lines in the right way.
Secondly, it is curious how this task is solved in different countries, where the decisions of different designers converge and where they diverge.
And thirdly, it is very interesting to look at the illustrations: photos and examples of maps collected by Ilya, which you wouldn’t even think to Google, let alone study specially. And here everything is discovered, photographed, organized—like a separate board in Pinterest, which is interesting to study, but also with comments.
Anyway, read the book even if transit maps don’t interest you.
Read the book even if transit maps don’t interest you
I have never been professionally involved in design and even jokingly refer to myself as a theorist designer, as I have been exploring relevant blogs and books with a great interest since I was at school. Thus, diving into “Designing Transit Maps” has been a fascinating journey for me.
First of all, the book is taking advantage of the screen media it’s designed for. It is not a static PDF, but rather a symphony of delicious details from the animated opening of the cover to the step‑by‑step breakdown of certain techniques.
Then there is structure and systematization of the whole process: each step and element is studied with as many options and examples as practically possible, but in a lively language and without being boring.
And finally, the subject matter itself. I spent countless minutes looking at some of the illustrations, studying the historical background, or reminiscing about past trips to Stockholm or Chicago. A transit map is quite a special way of looking at the city, without the postcard beauty, but conveying the structure and spirit of a place.
My case shows that the book is worthwhile and gratifying not only for those who specialize in transit maps design, but also for general audience. I think I’m not the only one interested in spending a few evenings studying branches, station “ticks”, and text with unobtrusive humor and sometimes surprising heights of design philosophy.
Each step and element is studied with as many options and examples as possible, but in a lively language and without being boring
At first I just liked examining the pictures. There are all sorts of maps: surface transportation, underground, and waterways. Lots of cities, countries, traditions, and periods, all gathered with love, as if it were a catalog of favorite postage stamps.
Then I suddenly found myself wanting to draw a map. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? All you have to do is bend the lines nicely and place the labels. But every time I tried, I inevitably made all the mistakes the author writes about. I read again, tried again. It didn’t take long for the book to become a reference book. As when you purposefully open the toolbox and look for the right piece.
At some point I began to see authors behind maps. It is a special joy, as if you understand a rare language or know a hidden cipher. You can communicate through maps. What did the author think, why did they put it together like that? Oh, that’s a nice way out of a tricky situation. And here, I would have tried it differently.
I highly recommend the book to anyone who likes to dig into small details, who likes modelling, collecting, cataloging, traveling, and to other nice nerds.
I suddenly found myself wanting to draw a map
The book is very addictive, you can stick to it for three hours easily. And then it’s impossible to keep your mouth shut when you pass by some map with one of your friends. Since then, you will no longer be indifferent to route symbols, and you really perceive the world around you in a slightly different way.
The language is very clear, it’s almost like a comic book with lots of pictures, despite the complexity of the topic. It’s great that there are questions to check how much you understood.
From the aesthetic point of view, it’s a pleasure to read this book. Everything has been thought out to the last detail: the novel digital format, beautiful images. Overall, the book inspires research and creativity, make you want to go back and read it again. An honest recommendation.
The book inspires research and creativity
I am not doing the design of transit maps. I was interested to see how Ilya delivers the information.
Despite the narrow and complex topic, it was not boring. The book is “thick”, but there is not that much text for this volume, which is good. The main content is maps themselves: it seems, all significant exhibits of this genre have been collected here. Kudos for visual explanations—schematic examples that show individual elements: what shape a line can be, how to build a layout grid, etc. I know from the experience of my own courses how labor‑intensive it is to make such things, especially with animation.
And, perhaps, the most important thing: Ilya does not just discuss and comment on other people’s designs, but shows a lot of his own work. Not every book author has their own projects to present.
Kudos for visual explanations
In cities–where, by default, there is not so much space per person–it is impossible to make enough room to travel for everyone, or even most people, without the space efficiency only public transportation provides. Public transport systems are therefore an essential component and driver of life in most cities around the world–at least, those that are large enough not to be easily traversable on foot.
Navigating public transportation involves understanding relationships between modes of travel, routes, service patterns, knowing different place names, and organizing all of that spatially–which can be a very challenging exercise for one’s mind, particularly for someone who needs to get to some new destination, one outside the daily routine.
The nature of this problem–the complexity of which is rarely highlighted in the literature on the subject–is what makes a public transport map a very powerful visual tool that is an important part of delivering seamless experience on public transportation, making it more intuitive and legible for everyone.
With this in mind, it is not surprising that so many public transport maps, be it New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Singapore, Moscow, and many others, have become deeply embedded in the culture of those places and recognized internationally.
Ilya Birman takes us on the adventure of exploring how great public transport maps are conceived and what the techniques behind that visual power are. His book is a prominent contribution to the world of graphic design and a great pleasure to read for anyone interested in the subject!
A prominent contribution to the world of graphic design and a great pleasure to read
I took Ilya’s course on user interface in October 2023. After studying the section on presentation of information, I got very interested in the topic of map design and transportation maps. For the New Year, I decided to please myself with a book about them. And I have to say, it’s 🔥
Before having read the book, I hadn’t realized what a huge and painstaking work was needed to create a map. What I liked most was the way the very process of trying and tweaking different design options for a single element is described. It's very involving and helps you see the train of thought. I also liked how brilliantly the book illustrates the basic principles and rules of graphic design, which apply to more than just maps and diagrams.
Thank you so much for such great content!
The book illustrates the principles, which apply to more than just maps
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About the book
Ilya Birman
Artem Gorbunov
Vladimir Kolpakov
Rustam Kulmatov
Vasiliy Polovnyov
Maria Popova
Yuri Mazursky
Andrei Eres
Nina Papchenya
Sergey Frolov
Simon Semochkin
Alan Kadzhaev
Namor Votilav
Nikita Scherbakov
Vitaly Tezyaev
Contact us: books@bureau.rocks
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