The new logo features thinner and more proportionate lines, giving it a fresh, contemporary look
San Francisco-based designer Derek Kim has given the city’s iconic Muni public transit system a modern makeover.
Kim felt the design, created by Walter Landor in the 1970s, looked dated and embarked on a personal project to revamp the logo, signage, and mobile app for a clean, contemporary look.
His redesigned Muni logo features thinner and more proportionate lines in red, giving it a fresh new look. The Fast Pass fare cards come with artists’ designs on them and double as fun souvenirs and keepsakes for both locals and tourists.
Kim also created pictograms depicting the various San Francisco neighborhoods, and two different signage styles for high and low traffic stations. The Muni bus got a new livery and colorway with the Muni logo prominently displayed across the body, and different patterns at the top indicating the type of routes for the respective buses–dots indicate limited routes while stripes indicate express routes. As for the tram, the Muni logo is repeated throughout the vehicle.
The mobile app was simplified to be more user-friendly, and in addition to arrival and departure times, directions, and alerts, it features the option to add value to existing Clipper cards. Staff uniforms also got a redesign, with neutral colors livened up by red Muni accents.
After his project went public, Kim was contacted by the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, who liked his work and plan to turn it into reality.
The designer said it wasn’t his intention to nudge the agency to overhaul the Muni’s design, noting that its notoriously slow service needs to be improved before any aesthetic revamp can be made.
Check out Kim’s designs below. What are your thoughts on his rebranding of the Muni?
The Muni bus gets a new livery and colorway with the Muni logo prominently displayed across the body, while patterns on the top indicate the type of routes–dots indicate limited routes and stripes indicate express routes
The tram features a repeat pattern of the Muni logo
Staff uniforms come in neutral colors with red Muni accents
Artists’ designs decorate the Fast Passes, making for nice souvenirs and keepsakes for locals and tourists
Pictograms representing the various San Francisco neighborhoods
Redesigned signage in the form of sign posts and totem poles for low and high traffic stations respectively
An underground station with the station name and a digital screen displaying the metro system map and arrival times
Simplified mobile app with arrival and departure times, directions, alerts, and a new feature to add value to existing Clipper cards
[via Fast Company, images via Derek Kim]