by Max Roberts


Welcome to my web pages of miscellany about the London Underground map. I'm interested in the history of the map, and the design and use of transport maps 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.


Coming Soon(ish)

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.


Presentations

I am available to give a lively, entertaining, and factually accurate presentation on the history, design, politics, and psychology of the official London Underground map (and the many unofficial ones), and I can slant this towards specific interests if desired. For non-profit making bodies, I am happy to do this if you can cover my expenses. For more details, email me at presentations@tubemapcentral.com

Here are some reviews of other presentations I have given:


Recent Additions

25/11/08: Posters for sale have been added along with a link. 28/04/08: Article on information pollution is now live, Underground Maps After Beck has been reprinted, and two more electronic Underground maps added to the list.

28/02/08: Some new links added discussing my new Underground map designs.

09 to 11/01/08: Various extras added here and there: electronic maps, links and books, more myths.

18/12/07: Illustations added to show the key stages in map design.

30/11/07: New myth added: Beck's Paris Metro map.


Last updated 28/11/08. All content on these web pages are © Maxwell J. Roberts, 2005-8. No reproduction without permission.