mta.me
  • Briefing Alex/Maeva
  • Featured image mta.me

This week we'd like to present the amazing Conductor project by Alexander Chen. It's not technically a map but more of a modern art project based on a map, Massimo Vignelli’s 1972 diagram of the NY subway system (see below).

The project is publicly available at the Internet address: mta.me. Basically, "Conductor turns the New York subway system into an interactive string instrument" as the author puts it. Honestly, it's one of the most impressive thing we've see in a while. Of course, we love that it's based on a beautiful map but we've been stunned by the creativity of mixing music, beautiful design and real-time trafic information.

Conductor is also an amazing piece of HTML5/Javascript code that the nerdy travelers will also appreciate. Everything was designed and developed by Alexander Chen, from the SVG graphics to the string plucking code. The trains information are provided by a public API from the MTA and the sounds are determined by the length of the strings. If you want more information, all the aspects of the project are detailed on the dedicated page.

Find more really cool projects on Alexander Chen's official website.

Alex

Preview of Conductor. Check it live at mta.me.

MTA system 1972 NY subway system map from 1972 by Massimo Vignelli.