Michael Hertz Associates (MHA) is a New York City graphic design firm, best known for its 1979 design of the New York City Subway map and the station and subway car signage systems that the map engendered.
The firm specializes in maps and environmental graphics for mass transit systems.
While the cartography slightly resembles the real geography of New York City, it has been carefully and extensively manipulated to improve legibility in congested areas.
[4] In addition to its transit system work, MHA has also produced a wide variety of maps and related designs for clients including the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the United States Army Center of Military History, the New York City Law Department, and other clients in the business, non-profit and public sectors.
Their work has appeared in a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition and an American Passenger Transport Association manual on excellence in transit system map design.