Zoe Guttenplan

2 weeks ago | nybooks.com | Daniel Drake |Zoe Guttenplan

In April New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority debuted a new map of the city’s subways, the first major update since 1979.

2 months ago | nybooks.com | Zoe Guttenplan

Massimo Vignelli wore a chalk-stripe suit. He stood on the stage of Cooper Union’s Great Hall, one hand holding a microphone with a long, snaking cord, the other gesturing at the transit maps projected onto the screen behind him: Munich,Amsterdam, Philadelphia. A brown circle intersected by long colorful lines jutting out in all directions: “The Moscow subway map, which is really a leftover of the Suprematist time,” he explained.