About an year ago I had this idea of making my own interpretation of the Bucharest Subway Diagram. I started without too much hesitation and this was the result:
Old diagram version
It has loads of mistakes both graphically and from the information lay-out stand point: station names positioned vertically, interchange stations huge attention grabbing tool-tips, the lines were way too thick. You can probably spot some other problems that I didn’t mention. All in all I think it was a good achievement but I wasn’t pleased with the result so I promissed myself that I will make the second version.
I started by re-thinking the entire thing. I have gone through a few iterations before getting to the one that I personally consider the best of all and enjoy most. I will post the current Bucharest Subway Map just for refference so that you can understand a few it’s specifics:
Current Bucharest Subway map
As you can see Bucharest has one single ring ( yellow ) and a few ramifications. But this might be subject to change in the upcoming years because the network is actively being expanded. And this expansion is one of the main things that I took into acount while building my map.
In my previous version the ring was a circle and it seemed right but I couldn’t be sure of it before testing other options, like a square. Bare in mind that this version isn’t finalized and has some major flaws because I realized it was a dead-end and stopped developing it:
One of the layout directions
So, I thought the square ring might be better both balance wise and in terms of information layout. But the square wasn’t optimal at all because top-right side only has 4 stations and I had massive balancing issues. Given the future lines ( the orange dotted in the official subway map ) Piata Iancului had to be paralel to Pantelimon or otherwise it wouldn’t have been possible to connect them in the future. This way I had to push 2 ( Obor and Stefan cel Mare ) on the top side and keep Piata Iancului and Piata Muncii on the right side. So basically in the end the issue was that I couldn’t balance the spacing between the stations. Back to the drawing board and to the magic circle.
The final diagram
In the end I decided to use the circle and I don’t regret this decision at all. It’s so much friendlier and it’s easier to manage in terms of future map development. All the station names are now placed horizontally and there is no font weight or size difference. The lines are much thinner and easier to follow.
As a designer I wanted to innovate – I wanted to mark stations and interchange stations in a less traditional way. But shortly I realized that it’s not the best thing to get creative in this particular case because it would directly affect the degree of usability. The traditional way of marking these elements on a subway map is something that people got used to. Ofcourse, exploring is always good and I will post a few of my ideas in a separate, explorative project. But for this one in particular I wanted to keep it traditional.
Future map improvements
planning to add Bucharest districts in the background- planning to create a Future Bucharest Subway Diagram with the new lines on it
planning to add a map legend
Any feedback is appreciated
Follow-up: Bucharest Subway Diagram – part 2
6 Comments
Hi!
from the graphical point of view, it looks good, as from the “practical” point of view, I don’t like that the subway map is not respecting at all the geographical map. Let’s take the green line, as an example – it’s geographical direction is North-West, as its direction in your subway map is West.
Good luck!
Agreed. You like maps most. But this is a diagram.
The difference between a diagram and a map is that a diagram does not reflect the geographical positioning ( like a map does ). It instead illustrates the relationship between the subway station
Thank you!
Salut Octav,
Intr-un final vad si continuarea muncii de anul trecut
Legat de noua varianta pot spune urmatoarele lucruri:
- per general, imi da senzatia de mult spatiu gol, nefolosit. O legenda ar umple un colt, dar un rezolva in intregime problema, din punctul meu de vedere. O idee care ar rezolva problema asta ar fi sa orizontalizezi diagrama, adica linia albastra sa o duci la orizontala dupa ce iese din inel (daca tot e diagrama, si nu e relevanta directia geografica). Asta ar rezolva si problema afisarii in metrouri (eu din ce am vazut pana acuma pe dincolo, spatiul este foarte lat si ingust pe verticala, cand se afiseaza deasupra geamurilor).
- nu imi place deloc faptul ca ai gradient la “interchange stations”. Imi place cum ai facut la Eroilor (aici poti apropia numele de statie, ca e cam departe), si identic poti face la Basarab, si cred cu tarie ca similar, pe acceasi idee, le poti face si pe restul (chiar daca Unirii si Victoriei sunt mai “tricky” putin)
Eu ma bucur ca ai continuat proiectul
Salut Andrei!
- Da, senzatia de spatiu gol o am si eu. Nici metroul bucurestean nu ma ajuta fiind extrem de basic
. Mizez pe altceva pentru umplerea spatiului si face parte din noile “features” ale acestui proiect si anume legenda statiilor si marcarea sectoarelor in background. M-am gandit si eu ca ar fi o idee foarte buna sa echilibrez compozitia cu linia albastra ( respectiv sa o curbez ) dar nu ma grabesc sa fac asta inca. Este una din solutiile la care s-ar putea sa recurg dar ma feresc de ea pentru moment.
- La interchange stations e tricky. Eroilor se deosebeste de celelalte pentru ca nu este tocmai interchange. Acolo se intersecteaza mai multe linii dar dupa cum observi continua in aceeasi directie. Celelalte pasaje de tranzitie de la o linie la alta. Nu as putea si nici nu as vrea din punct de vedere grafic sa le unific. Eroilor este intr-adevar un pic mai departata dar exista un motiv pentru asta
. ALternativa la gradienti pot face in stilul celui londonez ( adica pasaje de corespondenta albe cu border negru ). M-am ferit de acest stil pentru ca nu am vrut sa creez nota discrepanta prea mare in intreaga compozitie. Dar merita incercata.
Right, here I go!
First of all, I would like to say that you did a brilliant job. I peered at the original map and your final circular diagram for a long while, I can easily say I couldn’t find any flaws at all.
Your first try is rather thick lined (as you mentioned) and a bit harder to make a quick follow-up when needed (which is needed a lot by people who are rushing like crazy at times!). Also it would be harder to connect the future stations with the new lines and everything, as you also have mentioned.
About second diagram, it’s a good thing you tried the square ring style. The new thin lines made it look better for sure but you are right about circular ring looking better. After all, circular-centered diagram shows off a good symmetry on first look which looks way more friendlier to the eye.
On your last diagram, you nailed it. Thin lines, horizontal station names, good looking symmetric circular ring and best of all, future usability. I can already see you connecting the new orange and purple dotted lines perfectly there without any troubles.
The sole thing you are missing is background district part of the diagram, which is already on your to-do list. At first I thought it might be a bit hard to place the districts on your diagram’s background since the diagram doesn’t reflect the map geographically, which would make your districts in weird shapes. Then I checked the original map and seen the numbers (which I think are districts?). If they are the districts, then they are in great flow with the subway lines and it won’t be hard at all for you to place those background dsitricts to your diagram.
All in all, perfect, Octavian. Keep up the great work.
Thanks a bunch for the totally un-expected comment, Emre!
Also, this one will serve you as a great guide when you come to Bucharest for lots of beers. Of course the diagram would prove even more valuable if even drunk we will be able to find our way to the next bar. Cant’t wait for some usability testing ><