NYC Wayfinding Launch

NYC DOT has unveiled a unified wayfinding strategy for the city that will roll out from March.

The signage is designed by PentaCityGroup: a joint venture comprising wayfinding specialists City ID; applied industrial designers Billings Jackson Design; graphics firm Pentagram; cartographers T-Kartor; and RBA Group, which is responsible for general engineering and project management.

The idea is to make neighborhoods more accessible to visitors and locals alike. The street grid can be confusing, even to people who live in New York, especially in the older parts of the city and in the outer boroughs where the perpendicular grid pattern breaks down.

Directional signage and easily readable maps will be placed at key transit nodes to integrate with other transport modes and to mitigate the disorientating effect of the subway. By including walking times, the signage should encourage tourists and New Yorkers alike to explore the richness and diversity the vast city.

Similar wayfinding strategies have been rolled out across the UK. The ‘Legible London’ system has been so successful in pilot that it is now being implemented across the city.

Images courtesy of NYC DOT