Everyday stories michi / dō
Draw a transit map for a town that does not exist
Invent a few destinations, connect them with clear lines and test the map using ordinary journey questions. Let the routes shape the fictional place.
Wear this characterStart with a scene
Invent six destinations for a small town: a station, a market, a swimming pool, a cinema, a hilltop garden and a library. Place their names on separate scraps of paper. Before drawing streets or buildings, decide which places a traveller can reach on one line and where a change is needed. You are making a fictional network diagram, so it can simplify distance and geography while clearly saying that it is an invented map.
A closer look
Build the connections before the decoration
Draw two routes and give each both a colour and a distinct name or label. Mark stops consistently, and make transfer points visibly different from ordinary stops. If the cinema connects the two lines, show that connection as one shared place rather than two almost-touching dots. Keep labels away from crossings where possible. The reader should not need to guess whether a line passes through a stop or merely runs close to its name.
Now give the map three tests: a journey with no change, one with a change and one to a destination that is not served. Ask a reader to explain each route using only the diagram and its key. Watch for ambiguity rather than speed. If the library's label appears to belong to the wrong line, move the label or redraw that section. Do not solve the confusion by adding an explanation that exists only in your spoken instructions.
See it in words
- 道
- michiA road or path
- 書道
- shodōCalligraphy
- 柔道
- jūdōJudo
A meaning to make your own
A thought to give
A 道 design can accompany the map for a friend who loves imagined worlds. Leave one destination unnamed so they can add a place that changes how the town feels.
Make a gift cardOne more question
Does the map need to use realistic distances?
No, provided its purpose is clear. A network diagram can emphasise connections rather than scale. Label it as fictional and not to scale where useful, and avoid presenting invented travel times as information about a real city.
A character to carry with you 道
道 means road or way. The map offers a personal connection with how separate places become reachable from one another. It is a design exercise, not a real transport guide or a claim about Japanese network planning.
Wear this character
