The New York Subway Map Debate At Cooper Union April 20, 730 pm

A landmark moment in design discourse is finally documented in full. This volume captures the legendary 1978 Cooper Union debate between Massimo Vignelli and John Tauranac regarding the NYC Subway Map's direction—a confrontation that pitted abstraction against representation and elegance against clarity. Long considered lost to history, a recently discovered audio recording has enabled the complete transcription of arguments from Vignelli, Tauranac, and a panel of ten design and transit experts, alongside Stan Ries's archival photographs from the evening. Supplemented by contemporary interviews and historical context, this publication provides unprecedented access to a pivotal moment when the design community grappled with fundamental questions about information visualization and public utility. The New York Subway Map Debate opens a hyper-specific window into a moment in New York design history and the eternal struggle between form and content. The New York Subway Map Debate Edited by Gary Hustwit, photographs by Stan Ries, foreword by Paula Scher Designed by Order Published by Gary Hustwit and Standards Manual