TTC Cartography, Signage, and Wayfinding

[44 North]

I’m confident the TTC map would look phenomenal with a square/balanced design, but I don’t think the 20" x 28" ad space is big enough to host a map that could be legible. I’ve only done a basic check to see how it’d look, but to keep the same font size that exists now it seems way too cramped. There’s an extra ~1.5ft of width outside the ad space on that section of wall...perhaps it could be incorporated if a map is to go there?

I still find it a bit odd that the TTC is not actively looking for people with experience in the Adobe Creative Suite, rather opting for a relatively more obscure program such as CorelDraw. They could arguably attract better designers and produce higher-quality work with Adobe CS.

Although I’ve only played with imaging software as an amateur, and haven’t used Adobe Illustrator or CS, I can’t say anything good about Adobe. Is that what’s usually used by designers? Google SketchUp is pretty good for 3D things though, but I wonder what they’d use that for. And I also wonder if the TTC ever looks on this site for ideas...I don’t see why they wouldn’t.

 

[44 North]

I can draw busses too. Please hire me TTC

Haha. Reminds me of a scene from a movie.

I think it was called "The Bus that Couldn't Slow Down" (Simpsons reference).

 

[MafaldaBoy]

How do you know that they opt for CorelDraw over Adobe Creative Suite given that Adobe Creative Suite is also listed in the ad?

Oops, didn't see Adobe CS the first time, thanks for bringing that up. I was just assuming since the previous iteration of signage standards were apparently drawn up in CorelDraw according to Joe Clark:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/joeclark/sets/72157600149491956/

There's also his website (joeclark.org) which says something about the TTC utilising CorelDraw but I can't find it at the moment...

 

[nfitz]

Oops, didn't see Adobe CS the first time, thanks for bringing that up. I was just assuming since the previous iteration of signage standards were apparently drawn up in CorelDraw according to Joe Clark:

Which it looks like he uploaded 8 years ago. Presumably the manual predates that ... looks to be about 2002, at which point CorelDraw wasn't as far out of it ... and predates Adobe Creative Suite ... probably were using Adobe PageMaker back then ...

Personally my last major graphics work was in Lotus Freelance ... for DOS. Though I dabbled with CorelDraw ... though probably not since Version 4 on Windows 3.1 for DOS.

 

[Johnny Au]

I use Photoshop with a Wacom Bamboo graphics tablet.

It is much easier to draw with a graphics tablet.

 

[kotsy]

The TTC is looking for a Wayfinding Designer and Planner.

God, i would LOVE that job

 

[Nobina]

The TTC really needs to put the LCD screens on the TRs to better use! I was pretty impressed to see how Tokyo uses their displays.
[video=youtube;ck9_oOh6q3M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck9_oOh6q3M[/video]
I really like how they show a map of the platform at the next station with your car's position on it. The only thing I'd improve is displaying bus/streetcar/GO connections (and maybe landmarks) at the next station.

Also, it would have been very useful to have the New York-style next stop displays on the new Flexity streetcars. Maybe it's not too late to get them on the Metrolinx cars...

(Source: Roy Berman)

 

[P23]

The TTC is looking for a Wayfinding Designer and Planner.

Why didn't they hire for this position before they rolled out their inadequate pilot project? Why aren't they hiring a professional design agency instead of yet again doing it in house? I'll never understand the TTC.

 

[W. K. Lis]

With the very, very limited funding available (no leases from property like in the Far East), it can be hard to fund such projects.

 

[Adjei]

The TTC really needs to put the LCD screens on the TRs to better use! I was pretty impressed to see how Tokyo uses their displays.
[video=youtube;ck9_oOh6q3M]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck9_oOh6q3M[/video]
I really like how they show a map of the platform at the next station with your car's position on it. The only thing I'd improve is displaying bus/streetcar/GO connections (and maybe landmarks) at the next station.

Also, it would have been very useful to have the New York-style next stop displays on the new Flexity streetcars. Maybe it's not too late to get them on the Metrolinx cars...
View attachment 43038
(Source: Roy Berman)

This would be amazing to have here. I was in Amsterdamn recently and on their buses they have a display telling you the time it will take to get your stop. It would be neat to have it here. Also the different connecting routes.

 

[gweed123]

I’m confident the TTC map would look phenomenal with a square/balanced design, but I don’t think the 20" x 28" ad space is big enough to host a map that could be legible. I’ve only done a basic check to see how it’d look, but to keep the same font size that exists now it seems way too cramped.

Challenge accepted

 

[rbt]

Why didn't they hire for this position before they rolled out their inadequate pilot project?

The most obvious answer is that as an attempt to save on the budget (whether forced from the chair or not; TTC always has a very tight budget), they tried it out with staff on-hand first without knowing it would be inadequate.

The issue wasn't that the pilot project existed or that it was inadequate; the problem is that it got rolled out.

 

[MisterF]

As is evidenced by the 1965 image below, Eglinton was the top of the rectangle.

Downtown has the same rapid transit system it had 50 years ago. That's just sad.

 

[11th]

Downtown has the same rapid transit system it had 50 years ago. That's just sad.

Hasn't the current downtown boom only happened in the past decade or two?

 

[Markster]

The pre-Sheppard maps had the Spadina line going quite far over to the left so that it was positioned much closer to Dufferin. More recent maps have pulled the Spadina line in much closer to the Yonge line.

The maps on the Rocket trains have the Allen Rd section align mostly correctly with Dufferin:

And the Vaughan extension already has the hardware in place. You can see that it will run diagonally, and roughly line up with Jane on the Bloor line: