In case anyone’s curious to learn more about Helvetica (guess: you aren’t), AIGA has a really long piece on the complete history of the font typeface and how it came to be, from the NYC Subway to American Apparel’s logo.
HIST 477/677 American University
Seeing as you took the time to post this short blurb about a longer history of helvetica and the NYCTA, I decided that I would take the time to read this article. It is actually quite fascinating. The article first mentions how the documentary on Helvetica, which we all watched in class, is true and not true at the same time. After reading the entire article, I now understand what the author meant. I highly suggest that everyone read this article, or at least take a gander at it.
Even if you are not as interested in the history of a typface (I am guilty of this), the article contains a brief history of the New York subway system going all the way back to its beginnings in the early 20th century. You are able to see different genres intertwine (transportation, trains, subway, typeface, font, signage, etc) to tell a story. I had no idea that there was such an interesting, complicated history behind the NYC subway signage. In addition to actually being a riveting article, there are pictures to go along with what the author discusses. When he talks about early signs made of tile, there are pictures; when he talks about later signs and buses and drawn out plans, there are pictures.
Furthermore, the author delves briefly into a history of global metro systems such as in Milan, Massachusetts, London, etc. The article is a great demonstration how history is global. How one idea in a small part of the world can spread to other parts of the world, which is especially true in today’s digital age. Since we are now in a digital age and have seen a grown in the abundance of fonts, it will be interesting to see in the future which fonts will take over the world. READ THE LONG ARTICLE, or at least parts of it. If I can do it, you should too.