"Subte" is a colloquial term used for many years by local to designate their subway system
Buenos Aires Subte, por Leslie Wolke
SUBTE: a visual signage system of information, identity and stimulation.
Complexities in the urban environment can confuse the everyday traveller. This visual signage system works as instruments of information, identity and stimulation.
Project
Subte
City
Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Challenge
Complexities in the urban environment that confuse the traveller/user.
Solution
A visual signage system that work as an instrument of information, identity and stimulation.
The Buenos Aires underground signage was designed by Diseño Shakespear during separate stages ranging from 1995-2007. The name “Subte” (from subterráneo) was chosen following local surveys and focus groups studies that showed a need for a collective memory term. Local travelers had for many years used the colloquial term Subte and thus it seemed to be a natural choice to fit alongside the Tube in London, the Metro in Paris or the Subway in New York.
As per founder Ronald Shakespear, a sign is not just a panel with images, figures and letters. They are “active expressions of identity that go beyond just giving directions and solving basic circulation and communication problems.” Signs in urban environments should be fully integrated to their surroundings and act like they have always been there. They should help build the identity of a place.
The result is a two-level information system with over-ground signage that uses simple lines, circular shapes and bold colours that help the traveller memorise and identify the seven different transit lines. The visual system is extended throughout the underground level, with consistent use of sans-serif typography, bold lines and colours. The Subte visual identity successfully blends old-day prestige and functional aspects of modern life that are inherent to cities.
Designer
Diseño Shakespear
Client
Metrovías S.A.
Images copyright
Diseño Shakespear
For more information
* www.shakespearweb.com
* www.subte.com.ar
* Ronald Shakespear: Making the City Legible. Interview with Leslie Wolke. Originally SegdDESIGN Magazine.
Fuente: http://www.worlddesigncapital.com/design-success-stories/742/
