The history of Milan subway's signage - Bob Noorda and Franco Albini's masterpiece

An integral part of the daily life of Milanese commuters, the Milan Metro tells a story that combines talent and design in the creation of a model that started from the Milanese city to become an example all over the world. The talent in question is that of Bob Noorda, a Dutch-born who arrived in Milan in the 1960s as a freelance at Pirelli. In those years the Higher Council of Public Affairs started the works for the Milan Metro, assigning the architectural finishing and interior design project to Studio Albini of Franco Albini, Franca Helg and Antonio Piva in 1962.

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Upon the death of the Dutch designer, which occurred in 2010, ATM had decided to re-propose the original font used in the project, renamed the Noorda, contributing to a recognition that not only from the rest of the world (cities like New York have used the Milanese project for the local metro ), also came from the same Milanese city: in 1964 Noorda and Albini won the coveted Compasso d'Oro awarded by ADI, the same association that recently inaugurated its museum in Milan, dedicating a space to the Milanese Metro project. Obviously, the history and career of Bob Noorda are not limited to the Milan Metro, but he is intertwined with the daily life of each of us through symbols and logos that are now part of our life. His are the brands and coordinated images of companies such as Coop, Agip, Enel, Ermenegildo Zegna and many others, including the coat of arms of the Lombardy Region created with Bruno Munari, Pino Tovaglia and Roberto Sambonet.