Studio Journal 3

 Visual Journey

Map 1

After walking around Bristol Centre some more, I have decided to explore the idea of creating my visual journey using a map of Bristol. I have started by looking at various maps of Bristol.The map on the right (Map 1) visually communicates well as it is not too over whelming with the information it provides.It is a simple map focusing on the main roads and big locations of Bristol making it easy to look at and understand. The use of colour works well to as it helps to understand different locations. Where as the map below (Map 2) has less information. This does not make it any less successful as both maps would be used for a different purpose. Map 1 would possibly be used by a pedestrian to find an exact location such as Broadmead shopping or specific smaller roads, where as the map 2 would be used to locate a certain area in the centre of Bristol or one of the main roads that lead through it. The third map is similar to the first. However the imagery has less detail and uses a select use of colours. I think that this map is the easier one to look at out of the three as it only pin points the larger areas and main roads rather than the first map which shows all the smaller roads as well and the use of the colour theme makes it easier on the eye than a mixture of too many different colours and too much writing over the map like the first one.

Map 2

Map 3

London Underground

Harry Becks design

Harry Becks was the first to design the schematic image map in 1933. It was a new design for an old map but visually much better to understand. Becks worked as an engineering draughtsman at the London Underground signals Office. He proposed his new design in 1931 as the network had become too big to represent geographically. 

Looking at an old map of the Underground railways', he said, 'it occurred to me that it might be possible to tidy it up by straightening the lines, experimenting with diagonals and evening out the distance between stations'.

The solution that Becks came up with was to map the network schematically and based the system on electrical circuit diagrams. The design was initially rejected as it was thought to be too radical. After some changes were made the design was later approved and a trial pocket version was published in 1933.

Original design

An original design