{"id":4006,"date":"2021-06-13T21:36:20","date_gmt":"2021-06-14T02:36:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vanshnookenraggen.com\/_index\/?p=4006"},"modified":"2021-06-14T15:34:14","modified_gmt":"2021-06-14T20:34:14","slug":"ind-tile-color-map","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vanshnookenraggen.com\/_index\/2021\/06\/ind-tile-color-map\/","title":{"rendered":"IND Tile Color Map"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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My original concept for the IND Color Tile Map.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Author’s note: This is a map which has been floating around for a few years now. I originally posted it only on Reddit but whenever it comes up I always assumed that, at one point, I wrote a blog post explaining the map. I never actually did (not even a draft!) so this is that post. Part of the reason for this was that I was never very happy with the map. So I decided to redraw the map more in line with my original vision. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Color theory, when it comes to wayfinding, is an interesting concept but not one that seems to be talked about all that much. It’s probably due to the fact that, while different colors can make us feel a certain way, they don’t necessarily translate to wayfinding. This isn’t totally true of course; a giant red EXIT or STOP sign is pretty universal despite the fact that about 5% of the population is color-blind (more so in men than in women). When using a larger pallet of colors to give directions it becomes less intuitive. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing (once you know, you know) but it’s probably why you don’t see more color used in wayfinding outside of making signs easy to read.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This hasn’t stopped designers in the past from taking a stab at using color. In 1965 the newly created Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority tasked the architecture firm Cambridge 7 to create a design language for their system. Previously lines were referred to by where they went, e.g. the Cambridge-Dorchester line, rather than by name or number. Cambridge 7 proposed color coordinating the lines to make them easier to understand. Green was chosen for the streetcars which ran along Boston’s Emerald Necklace parks. Blue was chosen for the subway which ran below Boston Harbor. Red was chosen for the line which went to Harvard (Harvard’s school color being crimson). And Orange was chosen… because yellow was too hard to read<\/a>. Eventually this was retconned into being because Washington St, which the Orange Line runs along, was at one point known as Orange St.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Color was only assigned to the lines of the MBTA in 1967.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This color coding was so successful that, beyond the branches of the Green Line, if you were to ask a Boston native where to grab the Cambridge-Dorchester Line they would look at you like a tourist. Alternatively, you can spot a Boston tourist (or any tourist really) in a city like New York when they misidentify the 4 train as the Green Line. Interestingly, the color coded naming system did not catch on in New York. The complexity of the system meant that any one trunk line would have trains which ran to many different locations. <\/p>

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1972 New York City Subway map by Massimo Vignelli. Each line had a unique color. Today the major trunk lines have unique colors and share them with their branches.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When Massimo Vignelli designed his infamous subway map he chose not to color code the trains by trunk line, as is done today, but have each train a different color. This required duplicating colors so that a Green Line could mean two or more different trains entirely. This was eventually simplified when the Manhattan trunk lines were color coded which made traveling into the city easier. We might not call it the Blue Line but every New Yorker knows the A\/C\/E runs up 8th Ave (and not to the Bronx).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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By the 1980s the MTA had changed to the trunk based color scheme we still have today.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

One of the lesser known color changes Cambridge 7 added to the MBTA was inside stations. Cambridge 7 recommended cleaning up platforms by building false walls at either ends to obscure infrastructure which had been added over the years (pipes, wires, etc.) These walls were then painted in alternating stripes of either Red and Green or Blue and Orange. These weren’t just to cement the new line colors into the system. Red and Green walls indicated that this end of the platform pointed towards downtown Boston while Blue and Orange indicated trains would be heading to their suburban terminus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Red and Orange indicate that this train is coming from downtown Boston. Photo courtesy of Phil Boucher.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Blue and Green indicate that this train is headed away from downtown Boston. Photo courtesy of Phil Boucher.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I can’t speak to how well this works since I have grown up being able to read subway signage pretty well. Even so, when in a hurry, the most seasoned strap hanger can often get turned around in the underground labyrinth and come out onto a subway platform not knowing which side they are on. Since we instinctively look down the tracks to see if there is an approaching train it would stand to reason that we would be also staring at the color coded end wall of the platform and realize which direction we were looking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I suppose the usefulness of this system is long gone thanks to the advent of countdown clocks showing which trains will see be arriving. It probably also doesn’t help that, due to poor maintenance, these colored walls are either faded or not lit properly and therefor hard to see. I think most riders probably just think they are there for decoration and wouldn’t guess their true purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tile designs for the IND Fulton St Line.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

A similar attempt at color coded wayfinding was made in the 1930s by the architect\/designer of the New York subways, Squire J Vickers (that is to say, he designed the station elements and signage, not designed the subway routes themselves). Vickers had designed many of the mosaic station tiles which line every subway station. The IRT often had terracotta station emblems which showed off a piece of interesting history at each station, such as the beavers at Astor Pl. (John J Astor made his original fortune in beaver pelts). As the system expanded and tastes changed, Vickers modernized his mosaics into more abstract and geometric designs. These are most often seen on the BMT lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A post shared by Mandrew Lynch (@vanshnookenraggen)<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/blockquote>