Annear – A TWIST ON THE MBTAS MAP DESIGN 2014

Description

Dr. Maxwell Roberts, a University of Essex psychologist, merges design and cognitive research to reconfigure transit maps worldwide. Over a decade he’s studied map history, run usability tests, and developed a framework emphasizing simplicity, coherence, harmony, balance, and topography rather than fixed angle rules like London’s Beck diagram. Applying exhaustive “design sequences,” he experiments with two- to multi-angle grids, curvilinear Béziers, and concentric-circle layouts to reveal each city’s optimal rules. His recent focus has been Boston’s MBTA: he produced 13 unofficial maps (nine shown), including concentric, tetralinear, octolinear and curvy versions, addressing challenges such as the Green Line’s many stops, legibility of the central hub, coastal simplification, and Silver Line loops. Roberts finds Boston rewarding—more so than DC or Chicago—and defends curvy maps’ usability. He notes cultural differences, such as New Yorkers’ sensitivity to geographic distortion, and argues that multiple designs let diverse users find maps they prefer.