London, I’m serious: you need to get with the program. As far as my sensibilities are concerned, you are on DESIGN PROBATION. You, Dear Reader, might not be familiar with this map, but ughh I cannot tell you how the addition of the Thames (just a thickened, light blue line, really) provides such a wealth of context. But no longer.
I’m lucky enough to have straddled two worlds in my life, so far: that of a designer (now) and as a geologist (then). In the Venn diagram of my life, therefore, maps meet squarely in the middle. I’M JUST SAYING: MY VOICE WILL BE HEARD.
River Thames cut from London Tube map
From the Telegraph:
In one of the most drastic alterations since it was devised in 1933, transport bosses have decided to “de-clutter” the Tube map by removing the capital’s river.
The concentric rings of numbered zones, which indicate the likely cost of a journey, have also been removed, while limited service routes are now represented with single colour rather than dashed lines.
The new versions of the pocket map marked “September 2009” are already being handed out at the capital’s Tube and train stations, although there was no formal announcement of the change.
A Transport for London (TfL) spokesman said that the design had been tweaked to make it less complex. “Over the years as the transport network has expanded, so has the map which has become increasingly cluttered,” he said.
“By cleaning up the map, we have tried to produce the best possible journey planning tool for our customers, reflecting the principles of Harry Beck’s original and innovative design – simplicity.”
(Coming soon from the desk of Permenter: a post about Beck’s original design, and other subway maps from around the world. Stay tuned.)
