The New York City Subway Map as You’ve Never Seen It Before

"New York City has changed a lot over the past 40 years. But the M.T.A subway map, designed in 1979, has largely endured. The city has changed drastically over the past 40 years, yet the M.T.A. map designed in 1979 has largely endured. New York City was on the brink of bankruptcy in the 1970s. Crime was on the rise, and subway ridership had dropped to its lowest level since 1918. The Hertz firm’s map was digitized in 1998, with many of the design elements from the 1979 map incorporated into the new version. The primary designer assigned to the 1979 redesign, Nobuyuki Siraisi, was a trained sculptor and painter. He prepared for the task of representing the subway lines using an unconventional method. ..."
NY Times