They call it the MRT in Singapore, the subway in New York City and the metro in Tokyo and the tube in London. Train route maps read differently in each city according to their legends, the positions of the stations and the general complex web of lines. Getting lost in the metro in every major city is a common experience for travelers. This led French-serbian architect Jug Cerovic to standardize the international subway maps with INAT, a guideline developed to unify the global train network with easy to read visuals. His technical but highly effective guidelines are as follows: 

“ a standard set of symbols is applied to each map including the line colors, stations, connections and station labeling. angles are gently curved for a smooth familiar look and linear paths are represented vertically, horizontally, or 45, with no more than 5 bends on their entire length. “

These guidelines play a large role in reshaping the placement of the stations, already making the complex web of train lines easier to visualize. An interesting feature that he includes in this design is the highly representative shape in the map that is used for specific urban features. For example, he incorporates a ring for Moscow and Paris, a rectangular for Beijing, a stadium shape for Berlin and Seoul and a parallelogram for London. He also standardizes the text use, ensuring that they are labeled in both local and latin characters. The idea, he says, is to make maps easier to understand at a glance for everyone, regardless of the city they’re in. His design has brought him a lot of praise on the web and design forums.

Learn more about this design project here ! (INAT) 

All images courtesy of Jug Cerovic via Designboom