Roberts M – ROUND IN CIRCLES AND BACK AGAIN 2024

Description

This 14-page PDF document, ‘Round in Circles and Back Again: Updating my London Underground Concentric Circles and Spokes Map,’ is a recent publication from August 2024 by renowned transit map designer Maxwell J. Roberts. Presented in an engaging Q&A format, it offers a deep dive into the design philosophy and evolution of his distinctive concentric circles map for the London Underground, first conceived in 2013 and now updated. The article is exceptionally visual, featuring numerous historical and comparative transit maps—including early iterations, the Paris Metro, Berlin’s network, official TfL designs, and Roberts’s 2024 version—to illustrate key points. Roberts, an established authority in the field, critically assesses the usability and inherent challenges of such designs, contrasting his approach with traditional octolinear maps and even highlighting perceived shortcomings of the current official TfL map. It serves as a valuable resource for understanding schematic cartography from a leading expert.