Map Quest

“Every line a different color, every stop a dot.”

In 1972, when the NY MTA hired Mario Vignelli to develop a new plan for subterranean navigation, he was tasked with streamlining the wayfinding process for riders and bringing New York into the future.

Train routes were straightened into neat angles to make a tidy diagram out of the actual snarl of criss-crossing tunnels. Forty years later, graphic designers still laud Vignelli’s map as a triumph.

Baby on Board

It was not an auspicious start to the day...traveling downtown on an M15 bus, with a handful of fellow passengers who were getting angrier by the minute. The driver was on the "understood only by the MTA" schedule...waiting at stops long after all passengers that wanted to had boarded and exited then pulling away just in time to catch the next red light.

People were looking at their watches and grumbling under their breath. I was sure the guy in the construction hat was going to get up and give the driver a piece of his mind until the mother and baby got on at the next stop. Suddenly, all these grumpy people were captivated by a smiling, happy baby. We competed for the baby's attention, making typical silly adult "cooing at baby sounds" and waving at her (I think it was a her!). Even the construction guy could be caught making furtive, side-long glances in the baby's direction, smiling. The bonhomie continued after the mother and baby departed. People were smiling and nodding at each other even though the driver was still operating the bus at a snail's pace. I felt compelled to wish these total strangers a good day when I got off. I even said "thank you" to the driver.