Imagine a Subway System without Texts

When graphic designer Lance Wyman first landed in Mexico City, he was fascinated by the vibrant use of colors and indigenous art. After he designed for the 1969 Mexico City Olympics which used an unprecedented, comprehensive design system of icons, he took on the job to create a wayfinding system for underground trains of the capital of Mexico. At the time, illiteracy rate was high and Wyman came up with a unique icon for each station stop based on landmarks, history, or famous figures. The result was marvelous and it is perhaps the only transit system in the world that used this way of identification. What is really powerful is that the written word has always been used as a tool of domination in Latin America, sidelining and erasing indigenous cultures and languages. What Wyman and Mexico City government graphically produced was a return to and honoring of the pictorial heritage of pre-Columbian time.

I wanted to share this because this was a revolutionary moment in graphic design and Wyman's design ideas fit into a lot of readings that we have done lately, such as the use of color, contrast, iconography.

Further readings:

What do these icons mean? (CityLab)

Interview of Lance Wyman about wayfinding (CityLab)

A more in-depth account of Wyman's design, the Olympics, and the metro (The Gradient)