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Helvetica and the New York City Subway System: The True (Maybe) Story
How New York City subways signage evolved from a “visual mess” to a uniform system with Helvetica triumphant. For years, the signs in the New York City subway system were a bewildering hodge-podge of lettering styles, sizes, shapes, materials, colors, and messages. The original mosaics (dating from as early as 1904), displaying a variety of serif and sans serif letters and decorative elements, were supplemented by signs in terracotta and cut stone. Over the years, enamel signs identifying stations and warning riders not to spit, smoke, or cross the tracks were added to the mix. Efforts to untangle this visual mess began in the mid-1960s, when the city transit authority hired the design firm Unimark International to create a clear and consistent sign system. We can see the results today in the white-on-black signs throughout the subway system, displaying station names, directions, and instructions in crisp Helvetica. This book tells the story of how typographic order triumphed over chaos. The process didn't go smoothly or quickly. At one point New York Times architecture writer Paul Goldberger declared that the signs were so confusing one almost wished that they weren't there at all. Legend has it that Helvetica came in and vanquished the competition. Paul Shaw shows that it didn't happen that way—that, in fact, for various reasons (expense, the limitations of the transit authority sign shop), the typeface overhaul of the 1960s began not with Helvetica but with its forebear, Standard (AKA Akzidenz Grotesk). It wasn't until the 1980s and 1990s that Helvetica became ubiquitous. Shaw describes the slow typographic changeover (supplementing his text with more than 250 images—photographs, sketches, type samples, and documents). He places this signage evolution in the context of the history of the New York City subway system, of 1960s transportation signage, of Unimark International, and of Helvetica itself.
144 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
June 22, 2011
Helvetica is a sans-serif font based on Standard (akzidenz grotesk), designed in 1957 by two Swiss font designers. By the late 1960s it had become the predominant font for use in logos, advertising, and signage - a position that it holds to this day. A strangely fascinating documentary movie about Helvetica was released in 2007. The Arial font used by many software applications is a minor variant of Helvetica.
In the early 1960s an Italian designer named Massimo Vignelli designed a signage system for the New York subway. His specifications called for the consistent use of Helvetica for all signs. Though parts of his design were implemented, the implementation was limited and poor. And in fact the subway system continued to produce signs mostly in Standard (often hand-lettered and flawed) rather than Helvetica until the early 1980s. It was not until the 1990s that a reasonably consistent signage system was implemented.
If you were to ask me why I find any of this interesting, I would not be able to tell you. It might be because the problem of signage has many of the same design challenges as the design of software. The issues go well beyond the choice of font - Vignelli's original system simply chose Helvetica as the only font in order to reduce visual clutter and confusion. The bulk of his design dealt with issues of sign placement, color, word selection, etc. But the use of Helvetica certainly gave his design a distinctive 'look and feel'.
Beyond that, font design is an interesting blend of art and science. The designers of the Helvetica font claimed that its design had better balance between positive and negative space than other similar fonts, reducing the appearance of gaps and clumps in running text.
So if you're at all interested in this sort of thing, you will likely find this book to be a fascinating read. It is loaded with color photographs of New York subway system signs, some dating almost to the beginning of the system in the early 20th century. The layout and captioning is really well done, and the text is clear and concise.
In the early 1960s an Italian designer named Massimo Vignelli designed a signage system for the New York subway. His specifications called for the consistent use of Helvetica for all signs. Though parts of his design were implemented, the implementation was limited and poor. And in fact the subway system continued to produce signs mostly in Standard (often hand-lettered and flawed) rather than Helvetica until the early 1980s. It was not until the 1990s that a reasonably consistent signage system was implemented.
If you were to ask me why I find any of this interesting, I would not be able to tell you. It might be because the problem of signage has many of the same design challenges as the design of software. The issues go well beyond the choice of font - Vignelli's original system simply chose Helvetica as the only font in order to reduce visual clutter and confusion. The bulk of his design dealt with issues of sign placement, color, word selection, etc. But the use of Helvetica certainly gave his design a distinctive 'look and feel'.
Beyond that, font design is an interesting blend of art and science. The designers of the Helvetica font claimed that its design had better balance between positive and negative space than other similar fonts, reducing the appearance of gaps and clumps in running text.
So if you're at all interested in this sort of thing, you will likely find this book to be a fascinating read. It is loaded with color photographs of New York subway system signs, some dating almost to the beginning of the system in the early 20th century. The layout and captioning is really well done, and the text is clear and concise.
October 31, 2011
Ok, I admit it: I didn't think I'd enjoy this, but I did. It is a serious look at the history of the Helvetica typeface in the New York Subway System (the iconic use of the font in the US, apparently). It's really a history of fonts on the subway system, from the early days of the hand-created randomly-chosen fonts on the signs and in tile mosaics, through to the modern era of computer fonts. Along the way the fonts had some forced standardisations (which required the breakup of the in-house signmaking shop whose inability to resist doing their own thing messed up one attempt at standardisation). The standards were set just as the Grotesk-derived fonts like Helvetica were coming into vogue in America (they'd already been used in airports etc. in Europe).
The book is glossy, large, with lots of photographs of signs and reproductions of fonts and lettering. It's beautiful, and this is where (for the first time) I began to appreciate the subtleties of type. I learned to tell Standard from Helvetica, and even learned that even the NYC Subway still has a lot of Standard floating around. The two are very similar at first glance, but inspection of some key letters (C, G, 2) can distinguish them and the feeling when I learned how to do it -- it was like getting a nerd superpower.
Worth borrowing from the library for this purpose if you're a font civilian. If you're a designer, I think you'll enjoy the geekery inherent in it. But mere mortals probably don't want to buy their own copy just to learn to distinguish Standard from Helvetica. The number of life-and-death situations where I'll be called upon to do this is very small indeed...
The book is glossy, large, with lots of photographs of signs and reproductions of fonts and lettering. It's beautiful, and this is where (for the first time) I began to appreciate the subtleties of type. I learned to tell Standard from Helvetica, and even learned that even the NYC Subway still has a lot of Standard floating around. The two are very similar at first glance, but inspection of some key letters (C, G, 2) can distinguish them and the feeling when I learned how to do it -- it was like getting a nerd superpower.
Worth borrowing from the library for this purpose if you're a font civilian. If you're a designer, I think you'll enjoy the geekery inherent in it. But mere mortals probably don't want to buy their own copy just to learn to distinguish Standard from Helvetica. The number of life-and-death situations where I'll be called upon to do this is very small indeed...
February 16, 2022
Saw the documentary on TV. Wasn't what I was expecting....kind of missed the boat I think.
April 20, 2023
I really enjoyed this book that thoroughly covers the design history of the NY Subway and transit system type styles and graphics/signage standards. The author is very knowledgeable and points out many details most people would never notice. Just the complex history of the last 50+ years is enough to confuse anybody and the author provides enough details and chronology without being overly technical.
Overall it’s more like a coffee table book, many photos and illustrations through with some accompanying text. It is also a good visual reference book of the many different variations and styles of graphics and signage still found in the subway system today despite standards created in the 80s and 90s.
In addition, all the text is supported with detailed citations for reference and further reading. A detailed list of sources at the end is a great reference for further reading if you want to explore the subject more. I am surprised by how many books are written eon the subject and may end up reading some of them after this.
I recommend this book - whether you are. nY read don’t, graphic designer, architect, industrial designer, student, transportation enthusiast, this book will appeal to a broad range of readers. You should be able to get a decent copy for $15-20 and it’s well worth it.
Overall it’s more like a coffee table book, many photos and illustrations through with some accompanying text. It is also a good visual reference book of the many different variations and styles of graphics and signage still found in the subway system today despite standards created in the 80s and 90s.
In addition, all the text is supported with detailed citations for reference and further reading. A detailed list of sources at the end is a great reference for further reading if you want to explore the subject more. I am surprised by how many books are written eon the subject and may end up reading some of them after this.
I recommend this book - whether you are. nY read don’t, graphic designer, architect, industrial designer, student, transportation enthusiast, this book will appeal to a broad range of readers. You should be able to get a decent copy for $15-20 and it’s well worth it.
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December 31, 2020Nice one. Full of images.
January 28, 2023
Look, there's a very low ceiling to how exciting a book about fonts and signage in the New York City Subway can be
October 8, 2024
Interesting history and many great images. I like to think of myself as a typeface guy, but this was a little to detailed for me
April 8, 2012
If you've more than a passing interesting in typography and design as I do, you'll appreciate the history of the NYC subway system signage and how the Modernist techniques of simplicity and functionality helped to actually organize it into a system that's actually navigable. Looking back through the history I see there was a time when the subway was just completely mystifying and confusing and what we have now is such a vast improvement you might overlook its design as something that just seems so obvious, but it really wasn't. Having seen the Helvetica documentary I was also under the impression it had been used for the new signs from the beginning, but the closely-related Akzidenz Grotesk was actually the Standard instead. You can also learn to tell the difference. :)
(Part of my project to actually read all of my numerous coffee-table books)
(Part of my project to actually read all of my numerous coffee-table books)
December 8, 2012
An easy or dense read, depending on how much you want to take from it. I stuck with the visuals, modest text blocks, and illustration captions rather than digging into many of the footnotes—I may be becoming a bit of a type design geek, but I'm not that knowledgeable yet! The book gives an interesting chronology of how what eventually became the MTA system was signed, and how Helvetica came to be intimately associated with the New York City subway system. The book contained lots of interesting visuals, from tiled subway station identifiers to every type of sign you may see in the subway today...even hand-written temporary signs! A quick read due to the heavy use of photographs and small text blocks. Well designed too!
February 20, 2012
I really liked this book. It's half history lesson about the NYC Subway and half a lesson on typesetting and printing types, but I thought it was fascinating. Lots of great illustrations and photos to accompany the text so even a lay person could see what the author was talking about. Shaw takes a fairly esoteric topic and makes it really interesting. I will never look at signage around a transportation hub the same again. I would highly recommend this, but I think you probably need to read it in an actual book format - I'm not sure how it would translate in an e-book.
June 25, 2015
Maybe my problem is that I overestimated my interest.
But I think the problem is with the book: (1) the narrative is too insular. The author never explains why I should care or what all the players and terms mean. (2) The author does not seem to really create a "narrative." There are kind of a series of facts. This is very similar to Point (1).
Finally, (3) for a book about design, it sure doesn't seem like much thought was given to the layout. Everything was confusing. The captions were all willy-nilly and the pictures didn't seem to go in any real order.
But I think the problem is with the book: (1) the narrative is too insular. The author never explains why I should care or what all the players and terms mean. (2) The author does not seem to really create a "narrative." There are kind of a series of facts. This is very similar to Point (1).
Finally, (3) for a book about design, it sure doesn't seem like much thought was given to the layout. Everything was confusing. The captions were all willy-nilly and the pictures didn't seem to go in any real order.
July 21, 2019
This marvelous book is a piece of art in itself. The topic may seem obscure, but even the layman is invited to follow the intricate introduction and evolution of a modern signage system for the New York subway. How initiatives from private individuals become corporate policies, and how original ideas become modified over time. The organization of each page is a marvel of excellent layourt, where even the footnotes are a pleasure to read. The illustrations are evocative of the challenges of modern typography and rational, helpful design.
May 26, 2011
After enjoying the documentary about the typeface Helvetica, I wanted to check this book out. It is an interesting and well illustrated history of the confusion of the New York City subway system and the attempts over many years to unify the signage through the use of helvetica. It is a good book for anyone interested in the use of typeface and public transportation.
January 20, 2012
Who knew? Cities need street designers who consider the font on signs, the colors on the signs, placement . . . and on. The considerations of such matters in a city the size of New York boggle the imagination.
January 2, 2016
This is book is less about Helvetica than the name implies but still very good. It discusses the history of signage throughout the history of the NYC subway system. Lots of good pictures and excerpts from design and technical manuals.
Want to read
March 30, 2011<3 <3 <3
October 15, 2011
If you like typography and subway geekery, then you will love this book.
June 8, 2011
Tons of interesting pictures, but the text is too font-nerdy for me -- and that's saying something!
February 9, 2013
Part photographic collection of the utilitarian art of NYC subway signage, and part history of the economic and political factors that design and typography face in the real world.
December 31, 2012
Subways and fonts, what's not to love? Could have been a little deeper on the history. A heavy focus on the designers.
August 7, 2013
thankfully not about the omnipresent non-presence of Helvetica, but a thoughtful design-history essay on the messy story behind today's Helvetica signage
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews