I missed this when it was released yesterday, but those TriMet designers (who really do seem to have too much time on their hands!) have released another mash-up map, this time riffing off the (in)famous 1970s New York Subway diagram by Massimo Vignelli.

It’s probably the best one so far, mimicking the style almost perfectly. If you’re going to do a homage, you may as well go all in, and that’s exactly what’s been done here!

There’s some great little touches like the reworked TriMet logo and the way that all the services get three-letter codes (the familiar MAX and WES, but also PAT for Portland Aerial Tram, and PSC for Portland Street Car) to emulate the three-letter services of the New York Subway – IRT, IND and BMT. There’s even a subtle “folded paper map” texture, which is just lovely.

There’s a PDF download of the map available here.

The final word: Almost perfect! Some of the added geography is a little too fussy to be truly Vignelli-esque (Oswego Lake is okay, but Johnson Creek is a bit much), but that’s a truly minor nitpick. 4.5 stars.

Source: TriMet/Twitter