CityRealty Insider > Subway Signs: Remembering a Designer's Vision

Subway Signs: Remembering a Designer's Vision

FEBRUARY 2, 2010

A designer’s bold, modernist vision still guides city life.

The recent passing of graphic designer Bob Noorda, 82, (via NY Times) brought recognition to a bit of New York City life that we see every day, reminding us of the origin of the clean graphics and clear lettering that mark the city’s subway stations. Noorda was instrumental to the introduction of a new, modern look to the New York City subway system signage in the 1960s.

With his design firm, Unimark International, the designer made a case for a cleaner font family (Helvetica) and a more unified, logical system of identification for the system’s current hodgepodge of lettering and design on signs indicating stations and train lines. Though his designs weren’t adopted immediately (Helvetica, still a favorite of font geeks and designers, was slow to catch on), the easy-on-the-eyes station signs and circular subway line symbols are the direct descendants of his vision.

ALSO IN NEW YORK CITY INSIDER

Search
NYC Apartments for Sale NYC Apartments for Rent New Development Condos Condo & Co-Ops Rental Buildings Sell Your Apartment
Market Data
Market Reports & Research NYC Real Estate Sales Stats Recent Sales Search NYC Closed Sales CityRealty Indices
Market Insight
Features Top 10 Lists Rental Building Offers Our Magazine 6sqft Carter's View
CityRealty
Promote Yourself on CityRealty Contact Us
My Account
Sign In Sign Up

© 2026 CityRealty.com, LLC Powered by Leadkit Terms of Use Privacy Policy Site Map

RLS IDX Data display by CityRealty.com, LLC. This information is not verified for authenticity or accuracy and is not guaranteed and may not reflect all real estate activity in the market. ©2026 The Real Estate Board of New York, Inc., All rights reserved. IDX information is provided exclusively for consumers' personal, non-commercial use and it may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing.

All information furnished regarding property for sale, rental or financing is from sources deemed reliable, but no warranty or representation is made as to the accuracy thereof and same is submitted subject to errors, omissions, change of price, rental or other conditions, prior sale, lease or financing or withdrawal without notice. All dimensions are approximate. For exact dimensions, you must hire your own architect or engineer and for no listing shall the number of bedrooms listed be considered a legal conclusion.

All closed sales data has been provided by the New York City Department of Finance via the Automated City Register Information System (ACRIS). No warranty or representation is made as to the accuracy of any data provided by ACRIS or any other sources.

CityRealty is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for individuals with disabilities. We are continuously working to improve the accessibility of our web experience for everyone, and we welcome feedback and accommodation requests. If you wish to report an issue or seek an accommodation, please contact us at accessibility@cityrealty.com.

An equal housing opportunity

{"1":[40.775,-73.94,"East Side","_es"],"2":[40.79,-73.99,"West Side","_ws"],"11":[40.76,-73.98,"Midtown","_m"],"3":[40.736,-73.99,"Downtown","_d"],"13":[40.711309,-74.01,"Financial
District\/BPC","_fd"],"4":[40.682676,-73.973007,"Brooklyn","_b"],"12":[40.8444,-73.9376,"Upper Manhattan","_um"],"5":[40.7477089,-73.930411,"LIC \/ Queens","_qns"],"18":[40.8889782,-73.9025,"The Bronx","_bx"]}