… 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.
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.
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.
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.