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Professional Services: Design

There is a range of design services that I can offer, all executed with skill, precision, and speed. I have over 15 years experience at designing maps, with over 200 different designs and I have devised page layouts for both my books.


For all enquiries

Contact me at this email address: design@tubemapcentral.com


Paris Metro Thumb
Bespoke maps

The most cost-effective way to engage my design skills is to persuade me that something specific might be interesting to investigate. My Art Nouveau Paris Metro map and Celtic Knot Cork Commuter Rail map were both created as a result of suggestions from visitors to these
web pages. Of course, I retain copyright in such instances, and they
are Cork Commuter Thumb created in my own time. For
a faster turnaround, and exclusive rights, I can accept commissions for any schematic map using any design rules for any city network. I have a clear conceptual framework for effective design, close attention to detail, and a background in usability testing that all ensure the quality of my work, and regular media exposure is testament to its creativity.


Berlin Design Sequence
Rapid prototyping

For anyone who desires a creative approach to schematic mapping, my skill at implementing designs quickly means that new concepts can be tested within days of commission, and alternatives investigated just as quickly. The effectiveness of a map depends not only on choice of design rules, but also the quality of their application. Even if you have an in-house design team, novel methods can be difficult to implement well by people who are unfamiliar with them. Truly creative, usable outcomes require minimal preconceptions and prejudices plus some detatchement from organisational traditions.


Dow Illustrations
Digital reconstruction

My detective skills mean that a lost map can be recreated from photographs, an unpublished prototype can be implemented from drawings, or an old, damaged map can be restored to its original glory, all using modern vector graphics. Book illustrations, posters, and film and TV props can all be created. The maps here were created from photographs for Andrew Dow’s book Telling the Passenger Where to Get Off.


UMU Book Section Fronts
Book design

I contributed page layouts for Underground Maps After Beck, using Quark Xpress, and every aspect of the layouts for Underground Maps Unravelled are entirely my own work, using Adobe InDesign. For an illustrated book, placement of body text and images is a skill which can really only be learned on the job. If you want a book constructed with a keen eye for detail and precision, well-synchronised images and text, and careful attention paid to typography, then do contact me. For the UMU Book Spread more adventurous, I can suggest extra graphical touches that will make the book distinctive without being distracting for the reader. You can see for yourself the quality of my work by downloading sample chapters from Underground Maps Unravelled.