by Max Roberts
Welcome to my web pages of miscellany about underground/subway/U-bahn/metro maps. I'm interested in their history, and their design and use and wayfinding information in general. By training I am a psychologist, specialising in how people make decisions on the basis of information available. In many ways, a transport map can be seen as a logic puzzle: given information about the routes, how do people plan the best possible journey? Most importantly, in what ways does the design of a map make life easy or difficult for people? The London Underground map is often cited as an example of outstanding design, but in many ways I think there is considerable room for improvement.
NOTE: I am not affiliated with Transport for London nor any of its subsidiary companies. If you require information on travel in London, or the latest versions of official maps, you should click here. Many of the images included on these pages are copyright Transport for London (official Underground maps reproduced here for illustrative educational purposes) or myself (experimental designs and original maps designed to demonstrate usability points).
These webpages are updated reasonably frequently, bookmark and check every couple of months for new additions.
- International Exhibition My travelling exhibition on map design has generated considerable interest. Unfortunately, no exhibitions are currently scheduled, but more are in the planning stage.
- Commercial Services Coming Soon: Details of the design and evaluation services that I can offer, from the evaluation of existing maps to the creation of distinctive, new usable designs. Individual commissions also accepted.
- Media My research and designs generate media interest, here you will find a selection of articles that discuss, or at least mention my work.
- Lectures I am available to give lively, entertaining, and factually accurate presentations on the history, design, politics, and psychology of the London Underground map, and I can slant this to different levels of audience knowledge. For non-profit making bodies, I am happy to do this if you can cover my expenses. Follow the link for a list of lectures available, along with some reviews.
- Articles and Writing I have written numerous articles about map design and usability, as well as a book about the history of the London Underground map. Online-articles, downloads, and details of the book are all here. There are also some links to other web pages that discuss my design work.
- Merchandise Currently, two large format posters are for sale at the London Transport Museum. More to follow in the new year.
- Collectors Interested in collecting London Underground maps? I have some suggestions to help you, a list of key stages in map development since the Second World War along with images, a list of electronic maps in the public domain, a list of rarities, and for people with duplicates, a list of gaps in my collection.
Contact
If you wish to contact me about maps in general, use the following email address:
max@tubemapcentral.com.
I am particularly keen to hear about unofficial London Underground maps, both from Britain and from around the world. I already have over 100 in my collection, mainly from Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and USA, and mainly from the last 5 years. Complete maps are the most interesting, and any unofficial maps from before 1995. If you have any old maps or guides to London lying around, do take a look.
Recent Additions
06/12/10: More reorganisation. Written work put together on its own page.
Last updated 02/09/11. All content on these web pages are © Maxwell J. Roberts, 2005-10. No reproduction without permission.