… of New York
Mapos Designer
So we all know that the folks in our office are all about maps, especially those of New York. But after you’ve mastered the MTA map and don’t have to use HopStop to get around, there are other ways of trying to make sense of the city that have nothing to do with a dropped pin or a street address.
To start off a bit more architectural, there’s All the Buildings in New York, a continuing blog put together by illustrator James Gulliver Hancock with unique illustrations of, you guessed it… the buildings in New York. Sure, we’re given an address to help locate ourselves, but its visual characteristics help to do that as well, especially by isolating it from its context. There are some of our favorites like the New Museum that are given the same treatment as a recent entry that’s so close to Mapos HQ, that I’m going to pretend it’s the same building.
Image from All The Buildings of New York – Drawn by James Gulliver Hancock
Image from All The Buildings of New York – Drawn by James Gulliver Hancock
Image from All The Buildings of New York – Drawn by James Gulliver Hancock
Image from All The Buildings of New York – Drawn by James Gulliver Hancock
For all the minimalists out there where whole buildings are just too fussy, there’s always Windows of New York. Same idea zoomed way in, all packaged together on a beautiful website. It’s a project by graphic designer José Guízar. I like the thought that he’s pushing himself to find the unique character in something so insanely repetitive and the infinite scroll begs you to keep making your way through his large collection as you hop around the city without even realizing.
Image from Windows of New York – by José Guízar
Image from Windows of New York – by José Guízar
Image from Windows of New York – by José Guízar
Finally, because we’re well-rounded individuals who care about lots of things besides buildings, I’ll also mention Humans of New York. It’s funny, sad and inspiring on any given day as you see and read about one of the millions of people who live here that you will most likely never meet.
“Do you remember the saddest moment of your life?” “When I turned myself into the FBI at the age of 21. I’d committed a stupid crime, and I’d never been arrested before, so I was hiding from the cops. But then they started calling my mom. And she called and asked me to turn myself in. And I had to, cause it was my mom.” Image from Humans of New York – by Brandon Stanton
“My students were worried about me riding without a helmet, and they knew I loved orange. So they made me this.” Image from Humans of New York – by Brandon Stanton
“When I was 19, my girlfriend and I were going to study in Paris. Our boyfriends came to the docks to see us off. Right as we were getting on the ship, my friend’s boyfriend said to her: ‘If you go, I won’t wait for you.’ So she turned around and decided to stay. My fiance saw this and told me: ‘I won’t wait for you either.’ I said: ‘Don’t!’” Image from Humans of New York – by Brandon Stanton
I will always be fascinated by projects like these. Maybe because I hope to see my apartment building be given its 15 minutes of fame (the ultimate sign that I’m a “true New Yorker”) but also because they’ve found other ways to locate and organize the city that celebrates unique moments on the ground rather than from a bird’s eye view.