It really is a good map.
Michael Hertz — You’ve Surely Seen His Subway Map — Dies at 87
In 1979 his firm came up with the New York City subway map that is the basis for the one still used.
Michael Hertz, whose design firm produced one of the most consulted maps in human history, the curvy-lined chart that New York City subway riders peer at over one another’s shoulders to figure out which stop they want, died on Feb. 18 in East Meadow, N.Y. He was 87.
One thing is certain: The map he and his team came up with had staying power. It has been tweaked, updated and amended over the years. A substantial redesign was done by Mr. Hertz in 1998. But the core concept developed in 1979 remains.
“In transit map circles, Mike was a giant,” Charles Gordanier, the M.T.A. official who oversees the map today, said by email. “All New Yorkers carry some image of Mike’s subway map in their heads.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/25/nyregion/michael-hertz-dead.html?searchResultPosition=1
Michael Hertz, who helped design New York City's subway map, dies at 87
https://www.cnn.com/style/article/he...yle/index.html