A few weeks ago, I came across a site called Underground Signs selling replicas of the now-famous Massimo Vignelli-designed subway signs ubiquitous underneath the streets of New York. I figured the MTA’s intellectual property team would swiftly crack down on them, and a few weeks later, the agency contacted the site about some rights violations. This story, though, has a happy ending.
As CityRoom’s Jennifer 8. Lee reported yesterday, Trevor MacDermid and Michael De Zayas were granted a license to sell replica signs. The MTA will earn 10 percent of all signs, but the two can use all subway station names and the subway bullets as well. “This is going to be a win-win,” De Zayas said.
Signs run from $99 for a column-sized 12-incher to $400 for an eight-foot-long replica wall hanger. The two have put up a photogallery, and if anyone is looking for gift ideas for their subway-obsessed loved ones, Underground Signs is a great starting point.
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