News   Nov 25, 2024
Toronto’s Construction Boom: Prioritizing Worker Safety in High-Risk Environments
 145     0 
News   Nov 25, 2024
News Roundup for November 25, 2024
 331     0 
News   Nov 25, 2024
Highwire Act
 394     0 

TTC: Redesigning TTC Signage

a0th said:
the reasons are: the letters are illegible in reduced sizes, it's ugly, it's dated and reflects poorly on the system. it needs to be cleaned up much like most of the TTC and it's approach to design
Click to expand...

Its primary use is as a large sign on a building or sticker on a vehicle, in which case the letters are entirely legible. But even at a very reduced size (e.g. marking a subway station on a map), it's still quite clearly the TTC logo -- I don't think people mistake it for something else just because they can't clearly distinguish the two Cs. Your other points are all a matter of personal taste on which we can only agree to disagree. Your "ugly and dated" is my "distinctive and timeless"...
 
car4041 said:
Its primary use is as a large sign on a building or sticker on a vehicle, in which case the letters are entirely legible. But even at a very reduced size (e.g. marking a subway station on a map), it's still quite clearly the TTC logo -- I don't think people mistake it for something else just because they can't clearly distinguish the two Cs. Your other points are all a matter of personal taste on which we can only agree to disagree. Your "ugly and dated" is my "distinctive and timeless"...
Click to expand...

.....it's distinctive because of the shape, you can clean up the shitty type without changing that. and maybe people from toronto can recognize it but visitors have no idea, just because it appeals to your nostalgia is no excuse for such a sloppy logo.
 
a0th said:
.....it's distinctive because of the shape, you can clean up the shitty type without changing that. and maybe people from toronto can recognize it but visitors have no idea, just because it appeals to your nostalgia is no excuse for such a sloppy logo.
Click to expand...

But would cleaning up the "shitty type" be enough to make a visitor go from having no idea to understanding exactly what it is?
And again, you think it's sloppy; I don't. There's no right or wrong here.
 
jozl said:
TigerMaster, What an excellent post! I am a graphic designer and also teach design at a local college. I've grumbled about the TTC logo and signage for decades. I've done several redesigns of the logo just to help exorcise the current logo from my brain. The jumbled TTC letterforms in the current logo would get an "F" if it were submitted in my class. I was however encouraged today when I heard an interview with the new TTC general manager (forgot his name). One of the things he mentioned were the sloppy hand written signs stuck all around the system. He said he won't tolerate that sort of sloppiness and disregard for continuity. He seems to understand the importance of good, consistent design. I think it's very important as it brands the city as well as the transit system. I might even send the new GM some of my redesigned logos.
Click to expand...

As perhaps a sign he wants to clean out some of the TTCs historical attachments, Byford asked that they change his title from CGM to CEO.
 
TheTigerMaster said:
I think that the TTC should at least move to a more modern logo. The current logo is very 19th century and it reflects badly on a modern city like Toronto. We don't need to move to a completely new logo, but we should at least modify it to something a little more modern like bgfrancey did.
Click to expand...

Funny: this leads me to wonder: when any of us travel to other cities with a bit of the transit geek in us, do we view anything that's "dated" or "not modern" as a minus, or a plus?

Personally, I find it a plus--it's those bits of "remnant" "dated" olden time that give transit systems everywhere character.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
While I liked the direction that bgfrancey was heading in as far as visual identity for the TTC, I think he took too much detail away from the original TTC logo. I've created my own version of what I think the evolution of the TTC logo should look like.

Original
TTC-LOGO.png


Updated
[HOSTED IMAGE CHANGED, DELETED BY MOD]

Banner/Livery
9swe88.jpg


I know that the changes that were made are subtle, but they were done for good reasons. The most obvious change is the removal of the cluttered TTC text to improve iconography in maps, to enhance its display in digital formats and small print, and to improve readability at a distance.

The shield and ribbon are instantly recognizable throughout much of Ontario/Canada without the need for text, and in case there was any doubt about what the symbol meant, it would almost always be accompanied be text on signage and in print.

I have also reduced the size of the ribbon, shifted it up, and removed the white border to both emphasize the nested shield and to move the balance of the logo closer to the centre of the shield.

Like bgfrancey's proposal, removing the text from the center of the shield still allows you to do fun things such as inserting a ! for a service advisory, i for info and ? for inquiries.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
dunkalunk said:
While I liked the direction that bgfrancey was heading in as far as visual identity for the TTC, I think he took too much detail away from the original TTC logo. I've created my own version of what I think the evolution of the TTC logo should look like.
Click to expand...

Nice work, though I find the shield looks a little empty -- maybe that's just because I'm used to there being something in it. What if there was just a single "T"? (for "Transit", like in Boston, or for "TTC")
 
TheTigerMaster said:
Thats what I originally did.
2zqv2xl.png
Click to expand...
Borrowing ideas from Montreal's metro and some other subway systems,

[ pictogram | direction arrow | "<terminus station> direction" | platform number with line colour ]

If someone's going to Osgoode from Bloor/Yonge, they'd be told to "follow signs to platform 1 of the yellow line".
The sign they see will be ,
[ train logo | arrow | Vaughan Centre direction | 1 (<- yellow background colour ) ].
 
Instead of the stacked "TTC" - perhaps we can simplify it into just a Serif "T" in the centre? It is identifiable, provides historical continuity and carries qualities of other modern, stylized transit system logos.

Not a big fan of the stylized bgfrancey version - it looks "flippant".

AoD

PS: I see car4041 already suggested that idea. Like!
 
Last edited:
Nice, but I think it suffers from a case of shield "overload". Branded station logos are a nice touch, though I don't really trust the ability to carry that "style" to all the different stations (not to mention the possibility of logo fatigue).

AoD
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top