Thesaurus entries

Conventions of a Map

Satellite, Hybrid, Basic

Grid

Lines meaning roads, rails, paths, streets...

Route Map

Usually more than one colour for routes

clear circles to show stations/stops

clear line ends

clear change for different lines/methods of transport

usually quite straight unless named otherwise (e.g Circle Line London)

MAPPA MVNDI

The 'Mappa Mundi' was the first map created. It is based on a lot of myths and beliefs, such as strange, mythical creatures at the world's end, and the world being flat, with the world's edge a common fear for sailors. It is also very unclear, as it uses old type that would have been understood in the earlier years, rather than the simplified English we are used to today. Most of the 'Mappa Mundi' is covered on writing. Whether this places or description. One last vital feature of the 'Mappa Mundi' is it is also based on the belief that the world is entirely solid, with small streams and a big river. The 'Mappa Mundi' was drawn on a large piece of animal skin, spanning 1.58 by 1.33 metres.

Case Study on Maps

What first inspired me to create a map was the fact that I myself am very creative, and have a hobby and interest in trains. Trains being a form of transport obviously go to different places and so have a functional purpose, but also creates a visual landscape which I find fascinating. Before creating my own map I looked at various sorts of maps, and as I like to travel, already had an idea of the forms and conventions of an everyday map, and network map.

Here is an official network map of Arriva Trains Wales.

Here is my version of an Arriva Trains Wales network map

In terms of form, maps can appear ‘busy’ and sometimes a bit daunting, but they always have some kind of order as they need to be interpreted. Maps have a purpose and that is to help you find where you want to go, or encourage you to go somewhere. All the detail therefore needs to be a good representation or accurate indication of what would be visible in reality. Grid lines and scales are sometimes used to pinpoint places and distances accurately e.g ordnance survey and AA road maps. Street grids and transport networks also give a sense of distance and scale. (The eye naturally seems to follow roads or rail lines.) There might also be contour lines to show the height of the land. There might be other institutional information like compass points and often an actual picture of a compass for graphic ornamentation.

Colour usually plays a big part in maps as it not only draws the eye to certain things but also acts as a reference by using certain conventions that we recognise. For example big expanses of green usually means rural countryside, or parks, or greens. Blue is used for water - rivers, coastline etc. There are also known colour schemes for roads - blue for motorways, green for A roads, brown for B roads and black for small lanes etc. This all helps to build up a picture of the geography of the land.

Diagrams also play a big part in helping us put the location of things and places into context; they are always of relevance as they depict places of interest and provide a familiar landscape as to the viewer’s whereabouts. These might include historical monuments such as churches, attractions such as zoos or national parks and transport interchanges like stations.

Maps are generally respected and trusted for being accurate and this tends to be reflected in the production process where they are very professional - mass production in high colour and of a good quality. Sophisticated computer programmes will undoubtedly be used to create such maps as ordnance survey and London Underground. Other maps will just be throwaway items and therefore don’t need the same degree of quality - eg a map of a zoo. Tube maps actually use their own typeface, designed specifically for London Transport:

The typeface designed by Edward Johnston in 1915 for Transport for London was later emulated by Jonathan Paterson in 1994. Apart from a few similarities in the two typefaces, the key characters that fitted closer to the original were the: . , ; : ' " ! ? These typefaces were fittingly called 'Transport'.

In terms of my own map, I particularly enjoyed merging a few real life places with fictional creations of my own. An example would be Martlebury Museum which is based on the Temple of Artemis, has the roof of Sony Tower in New York and has windows in the style of a lego city building! I hand drew all my own diagrams and edited them accordingly in Photoshop. I based the idea of the tourist rail map of ‘Gainsridgeshire’ (the name of my fictional county) on a tourist road map of a district of France. I am very enthused by the end result and it has inspired me to create other maps; and also see more of the world so that I can base further creations on real life places.



Case Study of a Children’s Book

Aside from the fact that it was about trains, and stations, and good station names, I found this in the library and thought this would be a very illustrative book, as the book was originally created for children.

Upon opening the book, I was transported down memory lane and was astounded by the level of detail in the map at the beginning, and quite cleverly, a train route at the very back. Blathwayt has cleverly created a basis for what we have always liked to do from a young age, that is a fascination with maps and and following roads and pathways, and I love to do it still. For example, where there is a photo of Crewe Junction, I have to follow the line with a finger until a track promptly ends at the edge of the photo. There is also the option to follow a different line, with several junctions branching off from stations such as ‘Oakvale’ and this makes the whole idea of the route more visually interesting, and also gives the reader something to relate to when Blathwayt references ‘going to Barnacle Bay’ later in the book. It makes you want to go back to the start and trace the route that ‘little red’ went.

What also appeals to me about the map, is the fact that the industrial and rural landscapes have different shading, use of colour, and use of space to give the illusion of a real life map. This is enhanced further by the inclusion of bridges, rivers, a quarry, an airport, a key, a compass, etc.

Benedict Blathwayt the author and illustrator, started life as a painter and went into work in the Hebrides as a dairyman, which probably helped him create his fantastic landscapes and picturesque scenery which we see throughout the rest of the book. I am sure both children and adults will take great pleasure in the level of narrative detail in his pictures.

Having actually read the story, I realised very soon that Blathwayt seemed to have an obsession with rabbits, as he had cunningly put the shapes of rabbits in everything; the clouds, the grass, the wheat fields, the actual animal itself, and tree clearings. This seems to be a device to get the reader to engage with the visual landscape outside of the train window as it progresses on its journey. This is further helped by the passengers of the train commenting on the rabbits, deer, a fox, cows and clouds outside. This therefore encourages the reader to themselves look for what the passengers have said they can see and not only find the actual animals/things described, but also take delight in the discovery of another visual layer eg the rabbits that suddenly appear out of corn fields and woodland and the ‘black patches’ on the cows that ‘look like islands on a map’.

Another double page spread that I liked was the one where Blathwayt pulls out map-like landmarks connected with rail lines, such as a bridge, signal and footbridge etc and asks the reader to ‘spot these on the Little Red Train’s journey’. I took great pleasure and time in hunting through the book for mentioned landscape and buildings, such as a cleverly hidden signal box and an expertly concealed level crossing. Unfortunately, with my bad eyesight

I was unable to pick out the large tunnel!

To conclude this piece of work, I was inspired by Blathwayt’s visual and illustrative style, and planning, where he created a simple story based around a pre-existing layout of the country, flitting between countryside and urban areas. I was incredibly interested in the level of detail he put into the book, where you could learn about the busy ‘life’ of a train station and steam engine through the references and illustrations that mapped out the train’s journey, and made the book really engaging. I show a similar level of attention to detail in my work, with the 3 - dimensional buildings, a single line train route with small, often concealed objects somewhere within the layout.

Drawings of Subject Matter

This picture displays a network map based on a high speed train link straight from 'Embankment Place' to 'East Midland Dock'/'Bank' this was an original route that started from a scenic stop called 'Haltington' on the train simulator. As originally, the HST track is supposed to bypass 'Gainsridge Central', and completely miss 'Drennstone Junction', more routes were devised to make 'Drennstone Junction' more of a large working station. The single line shows the route, and the double line shows an EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) commuter route. The numbers in the visible station stops (circles) are actually a calculation as to how many platforms the station should be. This will give an idea as to where the hub of transport is. As the map was too basic, and geometric, I was advised to look away from my goal, and to a different goal of making a map, rather than a network map.

Here is my rough draft of 3 Dimensional buildings to be used in the map. From top to bottom, left to right are either references to Gainsridge, or copies of my model railway (Drennstone Junction). The very first station at the top right is Drennstone Junction platform 2. Following to the right, is the same station, this time with an ornate canopy, copying the same idea of Birmingham Moor Street station. Further along to the right, is my take of 'Gayne's Bridge'. This is obviously 'Gainsridge' town's roots, however, this bridge was based on the iron bridge, at Ironbridge, the Hornby canal bridge, and a Brio trainset viaduct. Included in these drawings are a 'One Anglia' livery 90 (my take). Interestingly, it wears the number 90003, which is in fact my model train. I also drew an idea of 'Gainsridge Town Football Club', which would obviously need a police station next door. I then tried to twist perspective with the aircraft tower (near the centre on the left sheet). The next drawing I considered a stroke of genius. As the theme we have to follow is outside, inside, and in between, this sculpture is just that. A london underground (inside) bursting out of the tube (outside) with cables hanging out of the London Underground sign (in between). Cleverly, the second exit of the roundabout ends in an idea taken from 'Source Code' a film about a man trapped in a system. The next part of the sculpture would be a permanently fixed car 'parked' on the disabled space, preventing the roundabout from being used as a roundabout, making it a stylish 'T' junction. Lastly, I used the idea of sculptures too much for the prototype front of 'Gainsridge Snow Hill' station. This was a train hanging out of the wall.

Just over the page, I decided to draw the intended main stations for 'Gainsridge' area. this includes the