We need some color inspiration from time to time. One of the things I mention in the book is to look for any kind of inspiration source that suits you to find colors that will work for your map. For example, you could look at book covers, art work, website designs, and other maps. The great benefit of doing this is that you already know the colors have been vetted through eyes other than your own. You can always change the colors as you design if and when needed but it sure is a great way to get started.
One map I thought of lately that would be great to use as an inspiration piece is the London Tube Map. Did you know that the London Tube Map, one of the most famous maps in the world that is still used, has been worked and re-worked since 1908? Henry Beck, who designed the map from 1931 to 1960 changed the colors quite often. We could guess that the colors on this map would be great for print-color legibility and contrast.
So how do you go about using them? I found the Pantone colors listed on several websites, translated them into RGB colors, and then uploaded them onto my new COLOURlovers page. I’ve used COLOURlovers quite a bit over the years for inspiration but this was the first time I had used it to upload my own palettes. It was so easy to do! You can retrieve the palettes and RGB triplets that go along with them from my COLOURlovers page.
When you take a look at my COLOURlovers page you’ll see that I’ve created some other interesting palettes too. Most of them inspired by other maps I really liked, though perhaps not as famous as the London Tube Map. In the meantime you can gaze at the two lovely London Tube palettes right here:
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