MTA Live Map Wins Gold at Cannes

The Live Subway Map created by Work & Co and the MTA has won a top award— Gold Lion— at the Cannes International Festival of Creativity.

Launched in October 2020, this live transit map visually depicts service changes in real-time to help more than five million New Yorkers and visitors better navigate the subway system. Over the course of an 18-month engagement, Work & Co led concepting, detailed design, technical architecture, web application development, and quality assurance to build the web app. The story behind the making of the Live Map —which marks the first major redesign of the MTA map in decades—was also the subject of a short documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Gary Hustwit.

At the 2021 Cannes Lions Festival, the map earned Gold in Digital Craft out of a total of 29,074 pieces of work entered from 90 countries. The Digital Craft category celebrates technological artistry, defined as having to display “flawless design, masterful execution and outstanding user experience created for all digital environments.”

In explaining the winning choices, Jury President Jax Ostle-Evans said “The bar has been set pretty high this year” and noted the “interaction of creativity and data specifically, with data analysis allowing more detail to create more personalized experiences.” She added that the pandemic has only driven the need for useful and well-built digital tools further: “There’s been a massive digital migration over the past year so we have to make sure to give them experiences they want to spend time with.”

”Work & Co has always believed the answer to creating the best digital products is pairing great design with world-class engineering and we’re now seeing the power of that approach —not just in earning creative awards, but as a way we can create digital experiences that meaningfully improve our daily lives,” said Felipe Memoria, Co-Founder of Work & Co and Design Partner who led the creation of the Live Map. “Not only is Cannes the most difficult of all to win, it brings in universal perspectives in the evaluation of the work —mirroring the diversity of New Yorkers and visitors using the Live Subway Map.”

“This is the highest honor for web applications and customer communications and I am elated that the Live Subway Map was not just considered, but awarded a Gold Lion,” said Sarah Meyer, MTA Chief Customer Officer. “This is just further evidence of the map’s popularity in New York City and around the globe. A big thank you to Work & Co for being great partners in developing this innovative app that will help returning riders navigate our sprawling subway system for decades to come.”

Access the map at map.mta.info.