Rather than having the stops represented by rectangles, they are simply represented by black dots inside the variously-colored lines, with the names of the stations to the side. This new map made the printed lines representing the various subway maps wider and bolder, making them easier to see. It was “the first map published by the Authority designed by an established design firm,” the Transit Museum said. The Vignelli Map was introduced in August 1972 by the TA and Unimark International, whose principals included Bob Noorda and Massimo Vignelli (other designers, like Joan Charysyn, were also involved). The stops were represented by squares or rectangles containing the numbers or letters for all the lines using that stop. Where a particular stretch of subway track was shared by several lines, you would see several colors next to each other. The next map, introduced in 1967 by a collaboration of designers, used a different color for each line. Photos courtesy of New York Transit Museum The late designer Bob Noorda, then a principal of Unimark Internationalĭesigner Joan Charysyn, who provided valuable input into the 1972 Vignelli Map. The late designer Massimo Vignelli, then a principal of It used only straight lines and diagonals rather than representing the actual curves or the subway routes, a schematic that was continued in future maps (although not the current one). The underground Transit Museum at Schermerhorn Street in Downtown Brooklyn is hosting an exhibit on the Vignelli Map, both inside the museum itself and online.Ī 1958 subway map, known as the Salomon Map, just used three colors, one for each “family” of subway lines - the IND, BMT and IRT (the initials were a reminder of the pre-1940 era when the subways were operated by different companies). This year is the 50th anniversary of a colorful, diagrammatic map of the subway system, introduced by the Transit Authority and Unimark International, that’s commonly referred to as the Vignelli Map. ↩Īlthough I will say that the website in Chrome absolutely hammered the processor on my computer.MTA Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Streamlined, Bolder Vignelli Subway Map - The Brooklyn Home ReporterĮvery once in a while, MTA New York City Transit, and its predecessor, the NYC Transit Authority, have changed its subway map around, trying to create a map that can make the city’s complicated subway system easier for straphangers to understand. The Hertz map fits the utility of the NYC subway so much better.
I know as a lover of simplicity, beautiful design, and whatnot, I’m supposed to love the Vignelli map, but I never have. I think Jabbour’s effort deserves to be acknowledged here. What’s interesting is that the MTA explicitly rejected and criticized the Kick Map but ended up doing something quite similar with the new digital map. Update: A reader reminded me of designer Eddie Jabbour’s Kick Map of the NYC subway, which effectively melded the styles of the Vignelli and Hertz maps together more than 15 years ago. I like it - a good combination of form and function. Zooming the map in and out, you see different levels of detail, just like with Google or Apple Maps. Here’s a video from filmmaker Gary Huswit that shows how the team came up with the new map: For example, it combines individual train lines such as the C, D, and E lines into singular trunks. It’s more geographically accurate, but it actually condenses information that was in the Vignelli map.
Meanwhile, the primary map the MTA uses today was created by Unimark International and Michael Hertz Associates. But the main Vignelli map was scorned by New Yorkers because it wasn’t an actual map, and it was quickly replaced (though a permutation actually lives on as the MTA’s Weekender diagram, which signals weekend services). This elegant simplification turns the confounding subway into a logical system. The first map is that by Massimo Vignelli, who simplified the snaking subway system into a clean diagram which traded geographic literality for graphical clarity. (Finally!!) Visually, the new map combines the styles of two past maps, each beloved in their own way. And you can even see the trains moving, right on the map. New York City has a new digital subway map that reflects the current status of the subway lines.
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