Vectorizing Barcelona Metro Tickets
From low-res image to physical bookmark: vectorizing Barcelona's forgotten transit history
In 2020, I stumbled upon a low-quality picture online of a set of Barcelona metro tickets from the 1980s. The vintage design immediately sparked an idea: I could vectorize the tickets to create a unique wallpaper or perhaps something more.
This small initial impulse led to a deeper dive. I began researching TMB (Barcelona’s Metropolitan Transport) multi-trip cards, finding sites exploring their history and collector photos. At this moment, I realized the reverse side was just as fascinating, featuring period advertisements. I focused on recreating the simpler designs as some of them were quite intricate and challenging to replicate using Adobe Illustrator with my limited skills.
The project culminated in a set of replicas of these metro tickets that served as bookmarks, printed on satin-finish cardstock at a local print shop in Ciutat Vella. Though already familiar with Illustrator, this project pushed me to manage a larger personal endeavor.
Looking ahead, I aim to refine the design files to make color changes easier and to learn more about professional printing concepts, like bleed, to make the final product even sharper and more consistent.
