cullmanndesign blog

The MTA has recently redesigned the New York City Subway Map. Not a drastic change from the 2 previous designs, the new version features additional information about subways lines and expanded visual indications for express and local routes.

New York’s subways maps are a unique piece of history and a part of New York City’s “branding”. For visitor’s, the maps are an integral part of using public transit. For New Yorker’s it’s an embedded icon for navigating those far-reaching parts of the city not frequently visited. Beyond the utilitarian value of the maps, these design pieces are facing travelers coming, going and while on New York’s subterrainian city. Having grown up in New York, the maps represent places I’ve lived, where friends and family are and memories of good times and bad. All of those dots represent day trips, jobs and people I’ve interacted with.

As a kid riding the subway, I remember the Vignelli’s stylized subway map. At that time, it the stylized version of the city was long in the tooth and when I had seen it, usually looked yellow and tired. It still reminds me of an aesthetic that harbors a sense of adventure and newness.

I’m glad to see that the MTA is posting a new version of the map. I don’t feel any nostalgia for the current version. More so than anything else, I’m glad for the big analog infographic that shows a landscape of options to subway riders.

If you’re visiting New York or a have been living there all your life, you can download a PDF of the new MTA Subway Map here.

The MTA has recently redesigned the New York City Subway Map. Not a drastic change from the 2 previous designs, the new version features additional information about subways lines and expanded visual indications for express and local routes.

New York’s subways maps are a unique piece of history and a part of New York City’s “branding”. For visitor’s, the maps are an integral part of using public transit. For New Yorker’s it’s an embedded icon for navigating those far-reaching parts of the city not frequently visited. Beyond the utilitarian value of the maps, these design pieces are facing travelers coming, going and while on New York’s subterrainian city. Having grown up in New York, the maps represent places I’ve lived, where friends and family are and memories of good times and bad. All of those dots represent day trips, jobs and people I’ve interacted with.

As a kid riding the subway, I remember the Vignelli’s stylized subway map. At that time, it the stylized version of the city was long in the tooth and when I had seen it, usually looked yellow and tired. It still reminds me of an aesthetic that harbors a sense of adventure and newness.

I’m glad to see that the MTA is posting a new version of the map. I don’t feel any nostalgia for the current version. More so than anything else, I’m glad for the big analog infographic that shows a landscape of options to subway riders.

If you’re visiting New York or a have been living there all your life, you can download a PDF of the new MTA Subway Map here.

I thought that I was going to avoid the Apple Tablet rumor bandwagon, but I couldn’t resist: After searching for and reading documentation for Apple’s iTunes Extra and iTunes LP format, I began to think about why Apple had not opened up their SDK sooner. The search for this software was instigated by asking why popular podcasters and vloggers had not begun using this extended format as a vehicle for more immersive experiences for their subscribers. Using a subscription model for the extended format would change how people engage their favorite podcasts and provide a delivery vector for content, visuals and, potentially, advertisements.

In October last year, Apple had announced their plan to introduce the enhanced format to iTunes users. The format allows end users to not only listen to audio content or watch video content, but to browse provided content and interact with the media (effectively replacing the experience large-format vinyl provided). The format is taking advantage of the already provided HTML/CSS/JS support within iTunes and provides an experience akin to a well designed website. The format was met with a luke-warm response, but there were few examples provided in the iTunes store and interest waned.

Why would Apple announce such a review-driven feature with no support or easy method of development? (Apple Rumor): To fold the adoption of this new media-driven format into an Apple Tablet release. Documentation that is provided in the iTunes LP Format SDK indicates that an automated system for submitting produced files is set for early 2010 (coinciding with a yet-to-be announced press release). A tablet device would be an ideal vehicle for browsing the LP or iTunes Extra format with a defined navigation structure and click-driven user interface. The distribution vehicle would be built-in with the Apple iTunes ecosystem already widely adopted by the audience.

I think my prediction is a conservative, but I do not think that Apple will introduce a completely alien solution to the idea of the “Tablet” as a device. What is likely is that they will provide a fantastic piece of hardware housing an adaptation of an already excellent user interface and make the tablet something it has not been since it’s introduction to the public by Microsoft in 2001: desirable.

If you are subscribing to my rumor idea, download the Apple iTunes Extra SDK and be ready for the Apple Tablet craze.

Google Chrome OS for the everday citizen

Google released a developer version of their new operating system this week: Chrome OS. The operating system is a derivative of Linux and is designed as a no-cost alternative to windows and mac OS X. The developer preview is spare and is designed to give developers a chance to create applications and extensions for the new operating system as much as to give the public a preview. When originally announced in July, industry speculation was that this new OS would be a game changer: That Windows should be worried, that Apple should be worried. This speculation was based not on the availability of a new, free operating system (there are several excellent free OSs available, Ubuntu the most popular), but on the Google cache alone.

Based on the initial release, I’m not sure that Chrome OS is the holy grail that was initially anticipated. Although it has many benefits,; no-cost, easy of use, an ecosystem of well designed, free, web-based applications, I don’t see this as a substitute laptop or desktop solution for most users.

I do believe that the Chrome OS will be a competitor for Windows in a fractured market, the “second computer”. Unlike several years ago, there are many people who use a computer for many different things, work, personal organization, communication, socializing, entertainment. This space between ‘working’ and ‘playing’ is well defined and although mobile platforms like the iPhone and Android fill the space very well, not everyone has a phone capable of a good web experience. Enter the Netbook category (and Chrome OS by proxy). The low-cost, low-power computers are ideal for the casual user who wants to update FaceBook, shop online, watch a few youtube clips and exchange e-mails with friends. Google is in a prime position to own the destination and the vehicle to get their.

Google does not have a very good track record for marketing. There have been only a hand full of commercials or ads to promote their applications or services. The few ads have promoted their mobile initiatives. Most recently the Verizon Droid release. If Google is able to partner with hardware manufacturers and enter the retail space, they can easily take a market-share comparable to the Apple’s in the home computer space.

The final piece of the Chrome OS puzzle is how Google is planning to incorporate their advertising based business model into a computer platform. Android is a similar model and they have taken a very conservative, user-experience focused approach with little or no advertising besides what is already in their web-based apps. A full-operating system does present opportunity to capture user data (even if aggregate) to better target and model advertising.

You can read more about Google Chrome on Google’s Blog or a comprehensive third-party perspective at CNET.

The O’Reilly Ignite series is a rapid-fire presentation format that challenges an orator to expound on a subject in 5 minutes or less using slides that auto-advance at a set interval. In this case, Veronica Belmont explains the Ins and outs of what a meme is and how marketers can make use of these virally spread nuggets.

Access the video directly.

Fallon, a Minnesota based design firm released their Social Media AIR application, Skimmer. This lightweight-app allows you to view, post and search through your Twitter , Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, and Blogger content and feeds. Using Adobe AIR, the installation is easy and takes only a few moments. The application itself is elegant and aesthetically minimal. It’s ability to organize and fine-tune content makes it a very easy to view copious amounts of content from your social media services. Fallon’s focus on design is evident in the application’s construction and user interface. It’s easy to spend hours (…and days…) behind Skimmer’s screens.

Skimmer can be downloaded at http://www.fallon.com/skimmer and can run on any windows or mac running AIR.