Black lines and colored dot clusters playfully dance and interact with each other against a pure white background, flying across 52 video screens at Fulton Transit Center, for two minutes at the top of every hour. Commissioned by MTA Arts & Design, A Data Love Letter to the Subway was viewed by nearly 300,000 commuters daily from October through December 2025. It’s the winner of an Innovation by Design award in data design. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/09\/2026-IBD_social-share-2-16x9-1.jpg","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2026\/09\/2026-IBD_social-share-1-1-1x1-1.jpg","eyebrow":"","headline":"Meet the world\u0027s most innovative design companies","dek":"","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"See the List","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/innovation-by-design\/list?utm_source=fcwebsite\u0026utm_medium=promo_block\u0026utm_campaign=IBD26","theme":{"bg":"#f4f4f4","text":"#2b2d30","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#444444","buttonHoverBg":"#ef5b24","buttonText":"#ffffff"},"imageDesktopId":91604521,"imageMobileId":91604520,"shareable":false,"slug":"","wpCssClasses":""}} While the animation is not a functional display of real-time data, a team from Pentagram used the repository of information from MTA Open Data to create the installation. “The trains become characters in a visual language that is almost like a picture book,” says Pentagram partner Giorgia Lupi.   [Photo: Samuel Morgan] The animation opens with the A and C trains, which run together for 18 miles before diverging for another 14, then goes on to show which trains wait for each other or which lines never intersect, such as the 2 and the G. The animation also incorporates various NYC subway facts, such as how long each line is and the year it was opened. [Photo: Samuel Morgan] The animation clos

← Back to Designed News