Since moving to the Bay Area we have become frequent users of the BART system, and each time — I kid you not — that I ride on it, I die a little inside. So, I started sketching what would become the new BART logo, if only for my mind to relax:

I tried a bunch of ideas, but I’m competing with nearly 50 years of the lowercase “ba” in PMS Process Blue. I tried a few different directions, including using the various train lines from the map, the transfer station icons, the “TransBay Tube,: the cars themselves, just plain type….

…and landed on this, typeset in customized Helvetica Neue and enclosed by the drop-like frame (in Process Blue), this just felt right.

And, of course, the reversed-out, one-color option.

If BART wants it, they can have it. But my guess is replacing the logo on 43 stations, 5 lines, hundreds of cars and the like would be cost-prohibitive for a nearly-bankrupt state.

First, there were the tickets. Great design already, just freshened-up:

Then, there were the trains themselves, due for a makeover anyway (as in, new cars), but here is the logo on the current cars:

And, of course, the signage:

Ad 1: Unbartable savings. Take BART and save on your commute.

Ad 2: Inebarted? Take BART when you drink.

Ad 3: See some exibarts. Take BART to San Francisco art museums.

Ad 4: Who barted? Take BART like over 300,000 do weekly.