Eye on Design: NYC Subway Papers

In the first edition of what I have now decided to label 'Eye on Design' (Trust me, it took me all morning trying to find something that sounded a wee bit nice..), I'll be doing a short commentary on those often annoying, often helpful subway newspapers. I know we all avoid the poor people with thankless jobs handing these out to us when we're in a rush to get to the train, but I want to pose a question none-the-less. From now on, 'Eye on Design' will provide the blog viewers with an understanding and opinion from ALL of the PID'ers on a given issue. This will prove to be interesting in and of itself, as we are all very different in perspective. Anyone reading this post can comment on this post and leave their own opinions as well, as we'd all love to hear what you out there have to say.

Now here's the question folks: Which of the two major subway papers are you more apt to pick up in the morning? Is there one particular specific about either that calls out to you? Is there a logo or color scheme that just makes more sense to your eyes? Or is it the news itself that has won you over? Speak up!




Now on to the opinions of the PID staff (any of the pid'ers can feel free to either directly post into this blog post or e-mail me their commentary):

Laz: It may be no surprise to those of you out there who know me, but my choice is always (and i didn't realize it until I actually took the time to think about it this morning), AM New York. To me, firstly, the logo is just a lot more creative and attractive to me. It makes interesting use of an already iconographic landmark and makes it work. The color scheme is simple and inviting. And for some reason, I just feel a much younger, liberal vibe from this subway paper. All in all, it just feels hipper and energetic, which works for me as I and most of NYC is generally in zombie mode every morning.

Alex: I agree with Laz, I am leaning more towards the AM New York cover, because it was designed in a way that makes it easier for my eye to read what's on there. The logo is also more appealing, and I like that they only used a few colors on the cover. Simplicity always works for me. I think the Metro cover is crowded (not sloppy though). I think if they got rid of that left sidebar, I would like it just as well as the AM New York.

Shalimar: Im gunna have to go with Metro. Even though the AM logo is cute and clever. I do not enjoy the "NY Post" way their front pages are. I dont have any issues in front of me at the moment, so its hard for me to comment, but based on these pictures you posted, it reminds me that, I am not a big fan of flipping through pages of newspapers (messy fingers), so the fact that metro has stories right on the front page is a plus for me. And I enjoy the fun color coded bars. Although its dense, its clean, and its pretty informative from the get-go. So I can read a few snippets of a story before i get off the train and leave the thing there on the seat for the next bored-zombie commuter. ;-)

Paul: I agree with Shalimar. The fact that there's actual content on the front page of Metro makes it more appealing to me. However, in truth, Metro reminds me of the front of The Onion, which may be the real reason why I'm attracted towards it.

The particular sample of AMNY you posted is quite appalling in terms of lame, uncomfortable design....Take for example the pictures of Hillary and Prince Charles on the top- they couldn't find two pictures with the same aspect ratio? And don't get me started on the AT&T "fold down" ad...yuck.

Though, in reality, both AMNY and Metro are so poorly written, I never pick them up just because of the painful tabloidness. I'll grab a copy of the Times for a buck and enjoy that a whole lot more....or even better, just go to 23 different websites when I get to work and enjoy a nice combination of different articles and points of view.