Odette

Go Ferry Go: A ferry map to match the updated subway design

Go Ferry Go is an iOS app with a redesigned NYC ferry map. It uses a diagram layout, bright route colors and 45 degree angles to match the MTA's updated subway map.

iPhone showing the Go Ferry Go map with an orange Astoria route highlighted, station dots for E 90th St, E 34th St and Wall St, and an AST route tab at the top.
Service
Design & Development
Client
Odette Digital
Year
2026
App Store
Download on the App Store
iPhone showing the Go Ferry Go map with an orange Astoria route highlighted, station dots for E 90th St, E 34th St and Wall St, and an AST route tab at the top.
PROBLEM

The ferry and subway maps did not match.

The ferry map and the MTA's redesigned subway map use different visual styles.

The official NYC Ferry route map above and the MTA subway map below, shown for comparison. The ferry map is geographic and the subway map is a diagram with bold colored lines.
Ferry & Subway Maps
Go Ferry Go branding: a white ferry icon over stacked wave lines in seven route colors on black, a strip of the seven colors, and the Go Ferry Go wordmark with wave marks on black.
Go Ferry Go Branding
SOLUTION

A ferry map in the style of the subway map.

Go Ferry Go redraws the ferry routes as a diagram with high contrast, bright colors and 45 degree angles. It has current schedules, delay information, live ferry tracking and route details. Tap a station to see upcoming departures, or tap a route to see its stops and travel time.

Two Go Ferry Go screens. The left shows the full ferry map with each route in its own color. The right shows the Astoria route selected, with an orange panel reading Astoria - AST, 25 min travel time and On Time status.
App Screens
Two Go Ferry Go screens. The left shows a Rockaway station panel with a Rockaway-Soundview departure at 9:57 AM and a View Schedule button. The right shows the South Brooklyn route with stops, departure times and a 39 min travel time.
App Screens
Two Go Ferry Go screens. The left shows a Wall St station list of East River departures from 10:19 to 10:40 AM. The right shows an E 34 St station panel with no departures in the next 90 minutes.
App Screens
RESULTS

Keeping up with a changing system.

Ferry routes change often, both seasonally and as routes and infrastructure are updated. Keeping the map current is ongoing work, and the plan is to automate as much of it as possible.

An NYC Ferry boat on the East River with the Manhattan skyline behind it, with the quote 'An experiment in data visualization, map design, beautiful UI, and the complexity of keeping up with changing MTA data' from Jacob Johnson of Odette Digital.