A Design Classic: Updated
When Massimo Vignelli re-defined the New York Subway signage in the early 70's, he also provided a matching map, which can only be described as an abstract piece of public art. In my opinion, his original map was great...almost perfect. It matched the (then new) Helvetica-clad signs throughout the system, and more importantly, tied together the system with a common visual identity. Sure, it lacked real geographic accuracy, but who cares!
The NY Times has a great article about how Men's Vogue has commissioned Mr.Vignelli to update his design to match the system as of 2008 (which includes deleting, changing and adding lines- like the new AirTrain). They have an "OK" version of it on their site for viewing, but if you want the real deal, you need to pony up $300 for one of 500 limited edition prints.
I am really in love with this map. Especially compared to the current Subway Map disaster:
Though, it's also worth mentioning this map, which was linked to in the Times article:
The above is an indy map made by Kick Design, Inc, which seems to me to be an interesting combination of the two maps above....it's not perfect (seems a little heavy and "chunky" to me), but it would be a nice breath of fresh air from 'THE MAP'.
1 comment:
Wow I think Vignelli's map is great. Even though its not geographically accurate. it still gives you the jist of where the train goes. AND it's not a total clutter mess explosion. Simplicity goes a long way.
Kick Design's version is OK, but adding detail to the boroughs is where I think it starts losing appeal for me.
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