The MTA’s Digital Services team contracted me to design a brand new app to navigate the Subway and bus system in New York City, focused on instant, zero-tap access to relevant trip information.

I helped shape the app from early stages, making a case for the bedrock philosophy of focusing on local, timely, and personalized information, constructing a fluid and lightweight information architecture, and perfecting the visual design of each screen.

Visual design

An in-depth write-up of the design process is coming, but for now here are some visual elements from the first release of the app.

I created an icon set that could look at home on both iOS and Android, while still taking cues from the stark pictographic style typical of the Subway system signage. The result feels subtly branded while allowing the app to feel right at home alongside other daily utilities on your phone.

The visual design of the interface also straddles a style that feels appropriate for iOS and Android without sticking out on either platform. We use platform-native fonts depending on the user’s device, but layout and design that again hearkens to the Vignelli-designed signage that is iconically New York City.

The app was designed and developed in collaboration with Jen Chen, Will Fisher, Abhilash Achenkunju, Jacob Barnett, David Brulhardt, Samuel Cederbaum, Kenny Durkin, Julia Finocchiaro, Jeannie Foulsham, Teresa Ibarra, AJ Nadel, Sunny Ng, Ryan O’Connor, Ken Prakasam, Angela Qiu, Eric Shu, Grisha Temchenko, and Sunny Zheng on the MTA Digital Services team.

Special thanks to Sarah Dean for constant design feedback and beta testing!