A good example of how one designer can create a whole bunch of commentary out of something as seemingly normal as a subway map, The Times reports on the bitterness the people of Madrid are feeling for Rafa Sanudo who was commissioned to redesign the map. Apparently, while it makes sense to visitors unfamiliar to the city, those who live there are infuriated that the whole system has been completely rearranged. Here's some:

Stations that were on a straight line now appear divided by 90-degree turns. The geographical relationship between many well-known spots appears to have been reversed. Others complain that stations that appear to be linked on the map are in fact blocks apart -- a complaint familiar to users of the London Underground.

Anden 1, a group of Madrid train enthusiasts, has attacked the new map as "confusing and illegible" and called for it to be withdrawn. "Even a schematic map should have some minimal relationship to the geography of the city," it said.