The new New York City Subway Map is getting a new face… inspired by its old face.
In 1972, Massimo Vignelli introduced his beautiful new map, which featured the now famous and still used Helvetica Neue Bold typography, and stylized renderings of New York City and its environs served by the subway system. From what I understand, the map was met with a lot of criticism because it wasn’t literal. Central Park didn’t look like Central Park. Manhattan wasn’t the exact shape of Manhattan. Distances between two points weren’t exactly accurate. Blah, blah, blah. It didn’t look the way NYC looks from a satellite photo, and people bitched.
Then, in 1979, the city quelled complaints with the version that we’ve used until now. The distance between stops was accurate and the shape and proportions of the boroughs was topographically correct, satisfying the literalists.
The new map, which will be introduced in print form this summer and is now downloadable as an iPhone app called the KickMap, was originally designed in 2007 by Eddie Jabbour in his spare time. It’s beautiful.
If you look at the design, it is clearly influenced by Vignelli’s original 1972 design, complete with stylized renderings of borough shapes and more whimsical angles indicating turns in a track line.
Unlike our current (1979) map, Vignelli’s 1972 map was understandable and legible. It wasn’t the cluttered headache we’re currently working with. The new map makes a refreshing restoration of clarity, legibility and simplicity, enabling the user to merely “scan” the map to get one’s bearings, as opposed to the optical surgery we need to do on the current one. Jabbour also thankfully preserves Vignelli’s signature use of Helvetica Neue Bold.
Jabbour used much more vivid colors than Vignelli to indicate water (blue) and parks (green) and much less taupe. For my own taste, it’s a little too pre-school technicolor, with the blue of the water dominating the design. In terms of any color that pops, I think the star of the show should be the color of the actual subway lines. But overall, I think it’s a nice improvement and a nice nod to a true design icon.
I’ve already downloaded the iPhone app, and I’m excited to see the new map in print. As Massimo Vignelli once said, the designer’s life is a fight against ugliness. More ugliness fought and beaten here. Thanks to Eddie Jabbour.
Download the KickMap for iPhone
Download the KickMap for iPad
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