WMATA

How neat are these recently discovered D.C. Metro maps?

Look at what an archivist at the Vignelli Center for Design Studies found last week

By Adele Chapin May 15, 2018, 5:00pm EDT

What if the iconic WMATA map was just a series of dots? While going through boxes last week, an archivist at the Vignelli Center for Design Studies at the Rochester Institute of Technology found famed designer Massimo Vignelli’s proposed abstract concepts for DC’s metro maps.

“I’m pretty sure I did a little dance and let out a little scream of joy,” Jennifer Whitlock told CityLab in an interview about her discovery. Lance Wyman ended up designing WMATA’s famous map, but take a look at the Vignelli Center’s Instagram posts and consider what might have been. There’s more to be discovered too: Whitlock told CityLab she has so many cardboard portfolios to sift through related to WMATA, it might take her the entire summer to unbox them all.

Found in the archives! Unrealized DC Metro map designs. Although Massimo Vignelli, while at Unimark International, designed the signage for the @wmatadc subway in 1968, he didn't design the map (which was designed by Lance Wyman). But we recently uncovered a variety of ideas mocked up on these presentation boards. We also found some original sketches for the signage! Stay tuned! #archives #design #Vignelli #Unimark #transitmaps #designarchives #1960s #designhistory #designprocess #DCMetro #modernism

A post shared by Vignelli Center (@vignellicenter) on May 10, 2018 at 3:38pm PDT

Yesterday we shared some newly uncovered Vignelli designs for the @wmatadc Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority subway system. And you showed so much enthusiasm that we couldn’t resist sharing a few more related items. Although Massimo Vignelli, while at Unimark International, designed the signage for the Washington DC Metro subway in 1968, he didn’t design the map (which was designed by Lance Wyman). But he did propose some ideas! We also found some original sketches for the signage! Stay tuned! #archives #design #Vignelli #designarchives #DCMetro #modernism #nevermade #designhistory #designprocess #1960s #transitmaps #subwaymaps

A post shared by Vignelli Center (@vignellicenter) on May 11, 2018 at 1:06pm PDT

The D.C. Metro Almost Had a Very Cool Abstract Map [CityLab]
What is your ideal, unrealistic D.C. Metro transit line? [Curbed DC]
Eavesdropping on the design icons who made Washington’s Metro [Curbed]
Massimo Vignelli: a Curbed primer [Curbed]
Massimo Vignelli’s enduring NYC subway legacy [Curbed]

How neat are these recently discovered D.C. Metro maps?

Share this story