Both a love letter to New York City and an introduction to graphic design, this is the story of how the designer Massimo Vignelli tackled the problem of creating a subway map that could be understood by all New Yorkers as well as out-of-towners. Filled with depictions of trains, subway stations, and the New York City skyline, the book follows Vignelli around the city as he tries to understand the system in order to translate it into a map. The book is produced in collaboration with the New York Transit Museum and features a section of historical and archival images and photographs. A groundbreaking work of information design, the subway map designed by Vignelli is an iconic work used by over a billion people every year. The Museum of Modern Art acquired the original 1972 diagram in 2004.

Emiliano Ponzi is one of the most sought-after illustrators working today. He is the author and illustrator of the best-selling book The Journey of the Penguin (Penguin, 2015), a unique work that imagines an adventure-filled life for the iconic Penguin logo. A monograph of his work, 10 x 10, was published by Corraini in 2011. His work has been exhibited at the Museu de Arte Moderna da Bahia (Brazil), Society of Illustrators New York Award exhibition, Triennale Design Museum (Milan), Savannah College of Art and Design and at the Artists Exhibition of the Bologna Children¿s Book Fair.