When inside the system, they just needed knowledge on how the lines interchanged, rather than knowledge of what is above them. The only times when a passenger needed geographical reference to the surface city were the starting and destination stations. The premise is that since the system ran underground anyway, then the surface topography of the city did not matter as much. It took its design from circuit diagrams. This map was an effort to disentangle the confusing complexities of the London Underground system into an easily legible and recognizable visual representation. One of the greatest influences on subway map design has to be that of Harry Beck’s London Tube map of 1931. These design decisions are far greater than just a matter of aesthetics or taste they reflect conscious decisions to represent the peculiarities of each system in the most legible and navigable way possible. Why do some cities like London and Singapore have abstract non-geographical maps, while other cities like New York have geographical subway maps? Why do some systems show the bus and rail connections, while others keep them on separate maps? Why are some systems divided into fare zones, while others are not? I realized that the map itself is actually a window into understanding the designs and workings of the entire system. I have always been particularly curious about the design of subway maps. I think it is time now to talk about my initial design motivations, and my design process in re-imagining the MRT map as a circular map. Although the hype surrounding my map died down after a couple of days, my map still gets revived from time to time and I see a spike on the visitorship count to the page with the map. I was incredible surprised when my map was picked up by websites like coconut.sg and other bloggers, who then proceeded to write posts exploring the ideas of usability and design of subway maps. Some others realized that this map was not official, and began to engage it as a piece of creative work, critiquing the usability and design of the map. Many comments were along the lines of “SMRT breakdown, increase fares, and now this confusing map?”. Some of the comments were particularly hilarious to read, especially those who assumed that my map was the new design released by the LTA.
When I woke up the next day, sgag posted my map up and that was attracting thousands of likes and shares.
Within a couple of hours, this map went viral, both on Facebook and on Twitter. Just about two years ago, I re-imagined the MRT as a circular map, and posted it on my Facebook page.
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