It might sometimes feel like you're trying to decipher hieroglyphics when you're staring at 16 weekend service changes flyers on the platform, but overall, MTA signage is one of the most consistently good things about using our mass transit system. There has been a real evolution in the typography and design of the subway signs since the start—an evolution that is the subject of an exhibit now on at the New York Transit Museum.
Changing Signs, Changing Times: A History Of Wayfinding In Transit is on display at the museum's Grand Central Gallery through November 8th. The exhibit traces the evolution of wayfinding in transit through photographs, objects, and archival materials drawn from the Museum’s vast collection. Through those archives and beautifully-preserved artifacts, it answers the question: What came before “Subway Standard” Helvetica, the On-The-Go kiosks and countdown clocks?
“Changing Signs, Changing Times is a crash course in information design – what worked and what didn’t, and who some of the designers were,” said exhibit Curator Jodi Shapiro. “I hope that the exhibit encourages visitors to learn more about the topic, which is vast and complex.”
Shapiro will also lead a free discussion of the exhibit, also at the Museum's Grand Central Gallery, on October 22nd—get more info here. Check out some photos from the exhibit above, and below, read a brief history about the changing transit signage, courtesy of the Museum.
In the 19th century, elevated trains, horsecars, omnibuses, streetcars and railroads competed fiercely for customers. Some of New York’s earliest transportation signage were largely handmade, first of wood and paint and later enamel on metal. Design followed the architectural tastes of the day, sometimes using beautiful typefaces that were difficult to read. Ornamental signage had dual purposes: to lure customers away from rival operators, and to make sure riders knew where they were going.
As more transportation became available, signage became increasingly verbose and confusing. New York’s subway system began as three separate companies: The IRT (Interborough Rapid Transit), BRT/BMT (Brooklyn Rapid Transit/Brooklyn Manhattan Transit), and the City-owned IND (Independent). The IRT and BMT—along with dozens of other competing companies—also operated streetcars. Commuter and freight rail lines crisscrossed the region. Customers had to rely on their wits, as well as whatever directional signage they spotted in stations.
New York’s three subway operating companies were officially unified in 1940, but physical integrations between the former IRT, BMT, and IND lines progressed slowly through the mid- 1960s. In 1967 Unimark, a design firm headed by Massimo Vignelli and Bob Noorda, was hired to finally give a cohesive identity to the New York City Transit Authority, and when the MTA was established in 1968 the standardization effort extended to include bridges, tunnels, and regional rail. The graphics and wayfinding system, largely still in place today, has been adapted to take advantage of the latest technology.
Of course, not all subway signs have been proofed...
BRODAWAY!
