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Map of the Day: Vignelli's Subway Map, Updated
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 24, 2008
Modified Apr 24, 2008
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 24, 2008
Modified Apr 24, 2008
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Design geeks and subway enthusiasts, time to swoon: Massimo Vignelli, whose beloved and controversial 1972 subway map is in Museum of Modern Art, has updated his map for 2008 for Men's Vogue. Men's Vogue revisited the 1972 map's path:
The plan was as visually utopian as it was elegant — paths running on 45- and 90-degree angles, an understated gray square marking Central Park, and type set in clear Helvetica. It was hailed as an instant classic of graphic design. But it left many feeling stranded. "People expected a map instead of a diagram," Vignelli, 77, says. "But diagrammatic representation is common practice around the world since the London Underground map of the thirties."
While the 1972 map show lines like the AA or RR, the 2008 edition gives you the lines you know and love (to hate).
Vignelli also is selling, via Men's Vogue, 500 signed, limited edition prints through Men's Vogue. The proceeds will benefit the Green Worker Cooperatives, the South Bronx non-profit started by Omar Freilla "dedicated to incubating worker-owned and environmentally friendly cooperatives." And we interviewed Michael Hertz, who designed the current subway map, last year.
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map
massimo vignelli
nyc transit
subway
subway map
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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