Dc Metro Map

Moscow just released its new metro map. We thought it would be interesting to write about the most well-designed maps of various cities’ public transit systems. Moscow’s new map took four years to develop, according to the design firm behind it, Art. Lebedev Studio. Its design is meant to be scalable to various sizes and complexity. A lot attention was paid to graphically representing the intersections of various transit lines.

Graphic designer Cameron Booth, who redesigned Washington, D.C.’s Metro map as a personal project (it’s not publicly in use), answered a few of our questions about mapping. First off, Booth says transit maps are not really maps at all; they are “diagrams that show connections between points and not the accurate geography of an area.” New York City’s subway map is the major exception to this rule.

Excellent Maps Around the World

Design is subjective and people from different cultures and backgrounds interpret maps differently. We asked Booth about his favorite maps or “diagrams.” A well-designed map, according to Booth, should be “understandable across national and cultural boundaries.” Some maps, for example, use iconography to situate the rider in the city itself, as is the case with Haifa’s subway system, called Carmelit, built in 1959 in coastal Israel.