Subway Font Overview
The subway font is the font used in the New York City Subway system signage. It was designed by Bob Noorda and is a sans-serif font with simple, no-frills letterforms intended for high legibility and clarity. The font has some unusual characteristics such as the lowercase ‘r’ matching the ‘v’ and the connected horizontal strokes on letters like ‘e’ and ‘f’. It has been called a modern classic typeface and remains an iconic part of the New York City visual landscape. The subway font is used not only for signage in stations but also on subway trains and maps.
Subway System Fonts
While MTA Wayfinding has made appearances on some new subway signs, Helvetica remains the primary font throughout the system, continuing its legacy as the face of the NYC subway.
In 1966 the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) hired design firm Unimark International to create a system-wide design language that would rid the subway of its confused and conflicting signage. Unimark promptly recommended that existing subway signs be scrapped and replaced with Akzidenz Grotesk, a German typeface known in America as Standard Medium.
Historical Context
Long before Helvetica became the subway system font, riders were guided by a mixture of elaborate tile mosaics, enamel, and hand painted signage. Squire J. Vickers, the subway’s lead architect from 1908 to 1942, was responsible for designing the stations of the city owned IND system.