Piece No. 10: NYC Subway Map
Disclosure: I am not a designer by study! These are my quick takes, written with the intention of examining products I love for my own learning.
I. Context
The original MTA Map - also known as the Vignelli map - was created in late 1972 by Massimo Vignelli through his firm, Unimark International.
The New York subway system originally comprised of three distinct rail systems - the Interborough Rapid Transit Company and the Brooklyn Manhattan Transit Company (today’s lettered lines), and the Independent Subway System (today’s numbered lines). Physical integration of the lines was a multi-year exercise. The signage, too, presented an opportunity to visually unify these disparate systems.
Designing a guide that simplified inherent complexity, remained legible to New York’s diverse riders, and upheld a baseline of visual appeal was a indubitable challenge. The map has gone through several redesigns with a major overhaul in 1979 to accommodate feedback from the 1972 launch, and another earlier this year to improve accessibility and digitization needs.
II. Choices
A | Abstract away details
Vignelli’s diagram truncated the distance between boroughs in order to capture the full range of routes. This is not surprising as map makers historically leveraged distance distortion in service of better navigation. However, Vignelli also played with the sizing, coloring, or presence of natural elements altogether, prioritizing legibility over fidelity. For example, in Vignelli’s map, Central Park is visualized as a square as opposed to a more realistic rectangle
Vignelli’s intention was to reduce focus on accurate depictions of above ground geography. In his mind, the purpose of the subway map was to create the most effective guide for the underground system itself; he hoped to pair the diagram with other navigational materials to create a holistic view for travelers
Riders did not interpret it this way, though - and not entirely to their fault as the other guides were never produced
B | Embrace the grid
Unimark leaned into rigid, geometric depictions of routes, only drawing 45 or 90 degree angles at junctures that took riders, say, across town instead of downtown. Stops were shown as circles, offering clear contrast to the continuity of lines
This decision affirmed Vignelli’s philosophy that a subway map should make it as simple as possible for users to understand where lines went, what the stops on the line were, and how many stops were remaining until they reached their final destination. His diagram aimed to be legible, not literal
C | Encode with colors
To capture the dimensionality of the subway system, while still serving an overall goal of rapid understanding, Vignelli demarcated train lines using color
This choice was largely upheld through the evolutions of the map - color offered a natural way to classify routes in a way that also aligned with riders’ mental models
The more controversial - and confusing - color choice was visualizing bodies of water in a beige tone instead of a more natural blue
III. Conclusions
Creating the map for the New York subway system - one of the most highly trafficked public transportation systems in the world - may be one of the most difficult information design problems of the 20th century. Vignelli’s interpretation was quite a thoughtful and extensible answer, despite its short-lived life in the 70s
It’s worth noting that after nearly 50 years, Vignelli’s original vision - a diagrammatic map that serves as one part of a broader navigation toolkit - is increasingly prescient. As tools for above ground guidance like GPS and Google Maps fill in gaps, the 1972 map is more clearly an elegant approach to underground navigation
The Vignelli map, then, underscores a timeless truth: principles-driven design may not always please in the moment, but it often creates solutions that endure