History and Design of Transit Maps
I have been researching the history and design of the New York City subway maps for a number of years. In 2012 I published the book Vignelli: Transit Maps based on interviews with Massimo Vignelli, Joan Charysyn, and others, as well as archival research. I am preparing several further volumes documenting the hstory of the NYC subway map since its inception.
In 2017-2018 I was doing experimental research at the Universiy of Kent at Canterbury. See 'Effect of colour-coding on Usability' below.
History of the New York City subway map
Chapters, articles, and papers
- Henry Beck’s Map Style in New York City (25-page PDF) (official published version, behind paywall), The Cartographic Journal, 60(4), 282–307. https://doi.org/10.1080/00087041.2024.2335078. See also essentially identical proof copy (no paywall). This peer-reviewed paper assesses the several ways Beck had an influence on the NYC subway map.
- Genesis of the 1972 Vignelli subway map (20-page PDF)
An excerpt from Chapter 3 of my forthcoming book, Make Straight the Way: Volume 5 of A History of the New York City Subway Map. It presents a detailed analysis of sketches made by Raleigh D'Adamo as the MTA's input to he design of the Vignelli map.
- Diagrammatic Maps of the New York Subway: an Historical Perspective (8-page PDF)
Paper presented at the conference Diagrams 2018, Edinburgh, June 2018.
- From Modernism to Metro Maps: Mondrian, Beck, and Salomon (18-page epub)
My article discussing the putative influence of Mondrian on subway maps, in Brief Encounters Vol.1, No. 1 (Feb 2017). DOI dx.doi.org/10.24134/be.v1i1.38.
Video presentations
Book
- Vignelli: Transit Maps (RIT Press, 2012)
This is the first book-length treatment of Massimo Vignelli's contribution to transit maps, focusing chiefly on his 1972 diagrammatic map of the New York City subway system, but also including his prototypes for the Washington Metro and his contribution to the Paris RER map.
Other
Design: Effect of colour-coding on usability
History & design: Symposium
An evening symposium that I organised on October 27, 2015. This was generously hosted by Cooper Union, who also recorded it on video. The event was timed to the 111th anniversary of the opening of the New York City subway on October 27, 1904, and looks at the recent past of the subway and its possible future. The following are video segments recorded by Cooper Union.
- Introduction
David Greenstein introduces the evening on behalf of Cooper Union, and Peter B. Lloyd introduces some basic concepts of the mapping of the New York City subway.
- R. Raleigh D'Adamo: presentation
R. Raleigh D'Adamo on how he created his 1964 map, which introduced color-coding to the New York City subway map.
- Peter B. Lloyd: Presentation
Peter B. Lloyd on the development of the New York City subway map after Raleigh D'Adamo's introduction of color coding in 1964.
- John Tauranac: presentation
John Tauranac (Chair of the 1970s Subway Map Committee) on how to fix the subway map.
- Eddie Jabbour: Intro and Presentation
Eddie Jabbour presents the KickMap family of subway maps.
- Joe Brennan: Intro and Presentation
Joseph Brennan presents on the subway map.
- Sarah Kaufman: Intro and Presentation
Sarah Kaufman: Blue Dots.
- Neysa Pranger: Intro and Presentation
Neysa Pranger: The Future of the Subway Map
- Panel: Q&A: Intro and Discussion
Q&A with full panel: (left to right) Eddied Jabbour, John Tauranac, Raleigh D'Adamo, Naysa Pranger, Sarah Kaufman, Joe Brennan.
Blog & social media
Software and data
Email: peter at peterblloyd dot com
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