The discovery of a lost audio recording sheds light on a legendary event in design history.

Last year in a dusty basement storage area at Cooper Union in New York City, an old reel-to-reel audio tape was discovered. The tape contained a recording no one knew existed, of a now-legendary debate which took place in Cooper Union's Great Hall on the night of April 20, 1978. 

On one side of the debate was Massimo Vignelli, the famed Modernist graphic designer who in 1972 had unveiled a diagrammatic map of New York City's subway system. Vignelli's map, designed with his associate Joan Charysyn, was a streamlined, minimalist masterpiece. But it was criticized by some because it didn't conform to the actual geography of the city. Facing off against Vignelli was John Tauranac, head of the Metropolitan Transit Authority's Map Committee, a critic of Vignelli's design who had spent years working on an alternative map, executed by graphic designer Michael Hertz. Tauranac's new subway map, which already had the blessing of the MTA, stressed geographic accuracy and included as much information about the city above as possible.

For over two hours, to the cheers and boos of a raucous audience of designers, transit officials and disgruntled subway riders, Vignelli, Tauranac and a panel of eight other experts argued. It was a battle of abstraction versus realism, simplicity versus complexity. Insults were hurled and sides were taken. Vignelli later thanked the event's moderator for helping him suppress the "homicidal urges" he felt towards some of the other panelists. A year later, the Tauranac/Hertz map was introduced and Vignelli's design was scrapped. The debate was a pivotal moment in design history, but the full substance of that evening's discussion was unknown, because no known recording existed… until now.

The New York Subway Map Debate includes the full transcript of the event from the newly discovered tape, along with new interviews with surviving participants John Tauranac, Peter Laundy, Arline Bronzaft, and more. It also features never-before-seen photos of the evening by photographer Stan Ries, plus a foreword by designer Paula Scher. Co-published with Standards Manual, The New York Subway Map Debate encompasses the worlds of data visualization, wayfinding, urban design, politics, and graphic design, providing a hyper-specific focus into a moment in New York design history and the eternal battle between form and content.

Order the book now, the first print run is almost sold out...

Edited by Gary Hustwit, Photographs by Stan Ries
Foreword by Paula Scher
Designed by Order
Published by Gary Hustwit and Standards Manual
Release date: October, 2021
Paperback book
140 pages