Sign, Sealed, Delivered

When upstart entrepreneur Trevor MacDermid realized he couldn't beat the MTA, he joined them.

Iconic. Minimalist. Formal. All of these terms describe the subway’s most identifiable characteristic: its signs—something Trevor MacDermid knows a thing or two about. A web designer living in Brooklyn, MacDermid is the founder of Underground Signs, a company launched two years ago that creates custom transit signs according to the MTA’s standards. In this film, MacDermid shares his hypothesis on why New Yorkers are so emotionally attached to these slabs of metal with white Helvetica letters splayed against a black background.