Come and help us celebrate the opening of our new exhibitions, En Route: The Graphic Design of Transportation and Muni Around the City.
En Route explores the design of travel and transit systems and their power to bring order and pleasure to how we navigate our world. From the modernist clarity of Massimo Vignelli’s New York City subway map to the expressive letterforms of Milwaukee transit passes issued between the 1930s and 1960s, the exhibition traces how design has guided travelers across eras and borders. Through historical artifacts, identity manuals, and urban navigation systems, En Route reveals how typography, color, symbols, and spatial mapping shape the way we move. A city’s character lies not only in its landmarks, but in the clarity with which we travel between them.
Opening on the same day in the Reading Room gallery, Muni Around the City encompasses decades of new and familiar Muni ephemera, posters, and other artifacts dating back to the 1970s. From its iconic worm logo to fast passes and beyond, Muni has made a visual mark in the SF Bay Area.