Happy 50th to the Vignelli NYC Subway map!
The map was released 50 years and one day ago on August 4, 1972. Although it was only used by the NYCTA for a few years, it has become an iconic design. When it was replaced in 1978, the Cooper Union held a heated debate over the Vignelli map and its replacement.
Sadly, the process work for designing this map is not in the archives, but we do have some rough sketches for layouts for the Design: Vignelli book by Vignelli and Michael Bierut. We also have Stan Ries’ photographs from the heated debate. Scroll through to see more artifacts from the archives to celebrate a half century since this map was released!
Industrial Design Magazine [October 1972] published a glowing review of the then brand-new map titled “Straphanger’s guide: The New York City subway map is the light at the end of the tunnel”
“Almost any revision of the New York City Transit Authority’s subway map would be clearly an improvement. However, the 1972 goes far beyond mere revision. The new map is not only well organized and color-coded, it has better typography–it is, in a word, readable.”
“Designed by Unimark International¬–Massimo Vignelli was in charge of the project and worked with Joan Charysyn and Norbert Oehler–in cooperation and conjunction with Leonard Ingalls, Director of Public Information & Community Relations for the T.A. The map is offset printed n three sizes–for stations, trains, and pocket sized–by Diamond International Corporation.” –B.A.G.”
Want more?
Listen to Peter B. Lloyd tell the story of the subway map on our YouTube page: https://youtu.be/NAMq1MgA-i4
Listen to the Cooper Union recording of the debate which was recently digitized: https://greathallvoices.cooper.edu/Detail/programs/1086
Read “Vignelli Transit Maps” By Mark Overdon and Peter B. Lloyd https://www.rit.edu/press/vignelli-transit-maps
Read “The New York Subway Map Debate” edited by Gary Hustwit, photos by Stan Ries, and forward by Paula Sher https://www.ohyouprettythings.com/new-products/subwaydebate
