by Dave Riensche, Art Director

I’ll never forget my first solo trip on the Moscow Subway system.

It went like this:
I know I’m here at Medvedkovo. I need to go seven stops, then get off. That stop will be Prospekt Mira, although I won’t be able to see any signs or understand the name as it’s called out. So I really really need to remember to count all seven stops.

The experience was stressful. I worried about what might happen if I got off on the wrong stop. If I got lost, who would I call? How would I tell them where I was if I didn’t know myself, let alone understand how to get where I needed to go. Seven stops. Seven stops in a country where I was virtually alone and didn’t speak the language well enough to do any good.

I managed to stay focused and counted all seven stops correctly. Disaster avoided. But I still had to go home.
And I moved here intentionally?

But then I saw it. Like a beacon of hope, a tourist’s dream, a translation of the most important traveling information in the city in a language everyone understands: visuals. You see it; you understand it. I’m referring to the beautifully designed Moscow Metro (Subway) Map.



Once I saw this map, I packed one with me everywhere I went for the next two years, the same amount of time I lived there. I kept a large version of the map folded up in the left breast pocket of my coat, zipped up and secure right next to my wallet, and a smaller laminated version inside my wallet. The larger map was nice for mapping out a plan of travel from wherever I may have been at the time, and the smaller one was a convenient way to check my progress along the way, without looking like a tourist.

The methodology behind the map is nothing revolutionary. Its effectiveness is simply a result of sound execution, not to mention the system’s architects planned the travel routes and station positions quite well.



Like many subway systems, the various lines are color-coded. I never referred to a line by its formal name, and I never heard anyone else do it either. (Although they may have been sparing me the confusion.) It was always something like “I need to go to Molodyozhnaya… it’s the near the end of the light blue line.” Take a look at the map, find the light blue line, then find Molodyozhnaya. That’s it. The hardest part is reading the name. The circles represent stops. Two or more circles joined by a black outline represent a place where you can transfer between the lines. If you need to go somewhere, the simplest route is to travel to the main circle line, transfer, travel around the circle, then transfer at a station that will take you where you need to go.

So what’s the big deal? Many subway systems use the same visual clues. What makes Moscow’s so special?

To answer that, it’s necessary to present the villain in this tale: the NYC subway system.



I look at this and I hurt. Full-blown migraine. For example, look right in the middle of the map, far to the west, at the blue line. What does “A, C, E” mean? What about the “1, 2, 3, 9” in red right next to it? Okay, so I look at the legend. No help. “Broadway-Nassau Fulton Street,” followed by “Subway A, C, J, M, Z, 2, 3, 4, 5?” Not much of an explanation. Trying to map out a route? Good luck.

I’m pretty sure this map is only understood by locals who already know the system. In other words, it does nothing to educate the newcomer. It’s kind of like going to someone’s house and being asked to find the TV Guide from two months ago and your only hint is that it’s near the gift wrap. Huh? Exactly. No help unless you already know where either the TV Guide or the gift wrap is. Nice one, Mr. Metaphor, but what’s your point?

I’m getting to that. But first, to recap:
My experience with the New York subway system was the exact opposite of my experience in Moscow. In Moscow, I couldn’t communicate with anyone, but I didn’t need to. Even in a foreign language (unlike the example above, the local maps were in Russian) the map saved me daily. In New York, I quickly learned that in order to get anywhere, I better just ask someone, because the map didn’t do anything for me, aside from tell me where I currently was. And it couldn’t do that without confusing me with a bunch of other information I didn’t understand.

As someone who designs websites, and observes all the other processes that sandwich the design, I see a big lesson here. Anyone can build a website. How its users experience it, however, depends on the planning and experience and know-how and skill and care of the builders.

I heart NY. But I heart Moscow’s subway + map more.