His original plans called for using symbols to identify Metro stops. A gift ribbon to mark Metro Center as a crossroad for trains and a shopping destination. A scroll for Archives, a small courthouse for Federal Triangle and the scales of justice for Judiciary Square. But the idea went nowhere.
Still, Wyman produced a powerful map with “primary colors, simple shapes, and a single sans serif font,” Schrag wrote in his book on the history of Metro. The design has been used since Metro began operating in 1976.
“Metro was truly a metropolitan system,” Schrag wrote. “And looking at Wyman’s map, riders could see that they were no longer just suburbanites or city dwellers but citizens of a region.”
‘A way finder’
In the studio office of Wyman’s Manhattan brownstone, the original Metro map hangs from an easel near his computer. Seventy-four journals, detailing his thoughts, sketches and ideas throughout his 50-year-career, line the bookshelves.
On a recent day, Wyman leaned against a counter and flipped through pages of his journals. He’s done more than 500 symbols, icons and logos used in a variety of places — from the Minnesota Zoo, to government buildings in Santa Fe, N.M., to the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
He scoffs at being called a designer or an artist and instead refers to himself as “a way finder,” one who uses cartography skills and symbols to help people get to their destinations.
Wyman chuckled at the thought: His wife says he’s terrible with directions. The last time he rode Metrorail — more than 10 years ago — he got lost while leading a group of people attending a design conference. His copy of an old Metro map had a faded orange line that he mistook for the Red Line.
“I get lost easier than anybody,” he said, “so it has to be easily memorable and understandable.”
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