Fortune - 04.2020

28

NYC

SUBWAY MAP

DESIGNED BY

Unimark

(Massimo Vignelli),

1972

The challenge: De-

sign a legible guide

to the sprawling

transit system

of New York City.

Italian designer

Massimo Vignelli’s

solution? Ignore

the overground

geography and

create a simplified,

color-coded ab-

straction. Design-

ers love the map,

but the straphang-

ers of the era did

not: The MTA had

it redesigned just

five years later. But

many of Vignelli’s

original design

cues persist, in-

cluding the color-

coding, heavy use

of Helvetica, and

liberties taken with

the geography of

the five boroughs.

THE GREATEST DESIGNS OF MODERN TIMES

IOS

DESIGNED BY

Apple, 2007

A mobile operating

system installed on

1.5 billion devices.

Simple to use;

powerful enough

for serious work.

SHINKANSEN

DESIGNED BY

Japanese National

Railways, 1964

Japan’s bullet trains

reach 200 mph

and have recorded

zero passenger

fatalities.

WECHAT

DESIGNED BY

Tencent (Zhang

Xiaolong), 2011

Integrating a host

of essential mobile

apps, WeChat has

become users’ one-

stop shop.

NEST LEARNING

THE RMOS TAT

DESIGNED BY

Nest Labs

(Tony Fadell), 2011

A thermostat

that programs

itself.

606 SHELVING

SYSTEM

DESIGNED BY

Vitsoe (Dieter Rams),

1960

Modular shelving

that works any-

where and holds

anything.

(^2829303132) “A USER
EXPERIENCE
THAT EVEN
BABIES CAN
FIGURE OUT
WITHOUT
BEING
TAUGHT.”
Hitachi Design Team,
ON APPLE’S IOS [29]
DSB.W.04.20.XMIT.indd 93 FINAL 3/10/20 6:39 PM