SEGD 2010 No. 27 - 59

Keeping the image alive The new stations mark a change from Vignelli’s original vision, featuring a new generation of signage based on Metro’s push for more contemporary, easier-to-read designs. “The original signage system placed most signs parallel to the movement of Metro customers,” says McBride. “However, in response to customer comments about signage and dramatic increases in ridership, we have found that strategically placing signs perpendicular to customer ﬂow at decision-making points enhances individual wayﬁnding and improves mass movement throughout the system.” On the platforms of the new Morgan Boulevard, Largo Town Center, and New York Ave-Florida Avenue-Gallaudet University stations, slender round poles topped by four integral light ﬁxtures have replaced the brown pylons and globe lights from older aboveground stops. Signs indicating the direction of the trains extend from these new posts. Hung perpendicular to the tracks to face the traveler, they feature text in Metro’s standard Helvetica typeface. The Bodoni serif face tested at Gallery Place was abandoned because “many people had trouble reading it, especially the visually impaired, and the U.S, Commission of Fine Arts staff recommended not using it,” explains Riley. “We also did not want to present something radically different from what worked well. The intent of the new signs is to keep the overall look familiar to our customers while at the same time making them easier to read with more concise, pertinent information.” The new signs are made of aluminum and are slightly curved for improved legibility, following the model used by Amtrak and other transit agencies. Cut-outs in the illuminated signs are covered with an acrylic inﬁll, while non-illuminated signs have engineer-grade vinyl lettering applied to their faces. “The biggest challenge so far in the new stations is making sure the mounting of hanging signs is sturdy enough to withstand wind pressure,” says Riley. The same type of signs will be installed in 11 future stations being planned for the new Silver Line, a 23-mile-long corridor extending from West Falls Church Metro Station on the Orange Line to Dulles International Airport in Fairfax, Va. The ﬁrst phase of the Extension to Dulles project is scheduled to open in 2013, adding ﬁve new stations to the existing 86-station system. Though the signage system has been changed to aid increasing numbers of Metro passengers, it still employs Vignelli’s original vision, says McBride. “White Helvetica on a brown background has become the Metro signature for signage and is at the core of our image,” he says. Those graphics will continue in the new stations. Adds Riley, “The intent is to keep Metro’s image alive.” Washington, DC-based writer Deborah Dietsch covers art, architecture, and design for numerous publications. Her latest book is Live/Work: Working at Home, Living at Work. segdDESIGN 59

SEGD 2010 No. 27

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of SEGD 2010 No. 27