"Every time Alex Blackwell and his team step on a TTC vehicle, they make their way to the transit map and stare at it. Sometimes for a really, really long time. People assume that we're tourists and lost, he says. We have to say No no, we're employees of the TTC.' It happens quite a lot. As the TTC's in-house cartographer, the map has been Blackwell's baby for the past decade."
"Even though the Eglinton Crosstown still isn't open yet and Blackwell has no idea when it will maps including the new orange Line 5 have been rolling out across the system. It's a complex process that takes months to complete. Blackwell estimates some 20,000 maps need to be replaced. The TTC decided to add Eglinton to the map when the Finch LRT opened, instead of updating it twice, saving tens of thousands of dollars in reprint costs,"
"Cramming all these new stops onto a pre-existing map presents many challenges. Commuters may have noticed the new Eglinton line doesn't appear straight on the light-up subway maps on Line 1 and Line 4. The LED lights couldn't be moved, so Blackwell had to design little dips on the map to make sure stations could light up and avoid the screw holes for fasteners."
Alex Blackwell, the TTC's in-house cartographer, led a major transit map redesign adding the Finch LRT and the orange Eglinton Line 5 despite Eglinton not yet being open. Maps including Line 5 have been rolling out systemwide, a process that takes months and requires replacing an estimated 20,000 maps. The TTC added Eglinton when Finch opened to avoid a second reprint and save tens of thousands of dollars. Cramming new stops onto the existing map forced design compromises, including deliberate dips to align LED lights and avoid mounting screw holes. Blackwell receives immediate feedback from an active online transit map fanbase.
Read at www.cbc.ca
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]