In the late 1960s, the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) decided that it was time that navigating the subway system became less of an impossible task. They hired Massimo Vignelli and Bob Noorda of Unimark International to design signs for the entire system, and the result was the New York City Transit Authority Graphics Standards Manual.
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The manual is regarded as a classic because of how it changed the city forever, but the editions were never made for the public, and most of them have been lost to history. Hamish Smyth and Jesse Reed of Pentagram found an original copy under old gym clothes in a locker and got permission from the MTA to digitize and reissue the manual as a book through their Kickstarter campaign.
Over 1,000 backers have already secured their copy of the book, and the design team at Pentagram that made the reissue possible says that this is the only time that the manual will be sold (unless you find it second hand in the future and are willing to pay significantly more). Head to the Kickstarter page or to thestandardmanual.com to learn more about the digitization process and to see images of the manual in its original and updated form.
[via Qz]
