MTA sign designer dies at 82

NYC subway signage is known the world over for its modern simplicity, Helvetica-esque Akzidenz Grotesk lettering, bold colored circles.  Yhe co-designer of the NYC MTA signage, Bob Noorda,  has died.  From Second Ave. Sagas:

"Underground, Massimo Vignelli is the superstar of the design of subway signs. He is largely credited with bringing a uniform design to the subway system shortly after the formation of the MTA in the late 1960s. Vignelli, who at the time was with the design firm Unimark International, did not work alone. He brought Bob Noorda, a leader in Modernist design with him, and Noorda was one of the driving forces behind Transit’s eventual use of its now-ubiquitious and familiar signs."

The ubiquitous signs have become a symbol of New York itself, and a lasting testiment to modernism.

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