Essex University lecturer London Underground map goes viral

Maxwell Roberts, from Walton, has been teaching psychology at the university since 1993 after working as a demonstrator at Newcastle and St Andrew's universities. 

Mr Roberts initially updated Harry Beck's famous 1933 Underground map and released his version in 2013, which gained a lot of attention. 

He said: “To say that I was astonished by the collective internet response to my London Circles map would be an understatement.

"The design was picked up by numerous media outlets and bloggers, including national newspapers.

Creator - Mr Roberts' work is award-winning (Image: Maxwell Roberts)

“Inwardly I wished that I had taken more care with certain aspects of the map but one thing was clear - a concentric circles map can present a powerful image that attracts people’s attention.” 

Mr Roberts has studied transit maps for a long time, and even won awards for his work, with the German city of Cologne adapting his 2016 design for the city’s public transport system in 2021. 

Reworking the iconic London Tube map was inspired by a TfL advertisement, and he looked into circle maps used for the Berlin and Lisbon transit systems. 

“I decided that it would be an interesting challenge to attempt a concentric-circles-and-spokes design," said Mr Roberts.

"However, at the time my project was intended more as light-hearted entertainment rather than serious design, resulting in numerous compromises.

“An important caveat is that just because I publish a map, this does not mean that I am advocating it or making any recommendation. For many of them I was interested in the outcome as a learning experience, and I wished to share this.  

Design - Mr Roberts' updated version of the iconic map (Image: Maxwell Roberts)

“Mapping is an inherently visual activity and I don’t believe that anyone can predict the results of a new approach. The idea has to be implemented before it can be evaluated.” 

And Mr Roberts said his work is not something people should use to get around the capital. 

“The map serves its purpose as a memorable image but it is not something that I would recommend people use for planning journeys, although it might be fun to try," he said.  

“This level of distortion on a map is very likely to result in people planning inefficient or roundabout routes. However, recent publication by TfL of an aspirational map for Superloop bus routes suggests that more concentric circles designs might be on the way.”