Spent three months last winter cataloging the remaining enamel signs in the central trunk lines. The originals — installed under a single graphics manual — are disappearing. Not because they failed, but because maintenance budgets cannot recognize the difference between a sign that works and one that merely exists on a wall.
The Problem With Polite Design
Contemporary wayfinding has a confidence crisis: soft blues, rounded corners, generous padding that mistakes comfort for clarity. The 1970 standards manual asked one question — does this get you on the correct train? Every decision flows from that single constraint. No sentiment analysis. No mood boards. Just geometry and consequence.
When in doubt, remove. The system's power was never what it added to the wall — it was what it had the discipline to refuse to say.