For the 2026 festival, Archtober teamed up with Data Vandals to create a one-of-a-kind newsstand installation on the downtown platform of the 51st Street and Lexington 6 Train stop. With their already established design identities, the two teams had to find a way to meet in the middle. This is where Greater, the brand and web agency that has designed Archtober’s graphics since 2020, comes in. The three teams came together to accomplish the ambitious design project, inside and out.

The collaborative effort resulted in graphics that speak to New Yorkers across the five boroughs, encouraging engagement with the newsstand through informative maps and interactive surveys. The installation focuses on New York City’s architecture and the infrastructure that keeps the city running.

The Data Vandals are a two-person team: Jen Ray, a visual artist, and Jason Forrest, a data visualization expert. They usually do the graphics for their projects on their own, but for this task, they worked with Greater to design the installation’s signage.

“We have never actually collaborated with designers before, so this was an experiment in many ways,” the Data Vandals said. “We really love the clean illustration style they bring to Archtober, so having them redraw buildings in the neighborhood was great! They also laid out the ‘door’ in a way that we wouldn't have done, so there was a lot of learning in the process.”

‍

‍

“MTA's Vacant Unit Activation Program has been on our radar since last year,” Alex Blaiotta, founding partner of Greater, said. “When we saw what Data Vandals were doing, it felt like the perfect fit. Katie [Mullen, Director of Archtober]  reached out to them to see if there was an opportunity to collaborate. This year’s theme, 'In Our Hands,' had us thinking about how to bring interactivity and polling into the festival, so connecting with Data Vandals was a natural mind meld.”

‍

And how did this mind meld work? It manifested in a weekly design workshop where everyone brought ideas and sketches and let things flow from there.

“Those sessions were the meetings I looked forward to most on my calendar,” Blaiotta said. “They were full of laughter and NYC tangents, and we always walked away with something new.”

Through the weekly workshops, the vision started to form. But the biggest challenge of the project was “landing the visual style.”

"We found a balance that pairs Data Vandals’ handwritten typography and painterly style with Archtober’s colors and illustration language,” Blaiotta said. “I’m especially proud of the interactive panels inside the newsstand. They carry the personality and spirit of Data Vandals while staying colorful and unmistakably Archtober.”

Data Vandals open up the newsstand to visitors every Friday and Sunday from 3-6pm to interact with the inside, and the newsstand is closed the rest of the week. This meant that the outside panels were a crucial element to be able to engage subway-goers around-the-clock.

“Since our work connects with people in different ways, the outside of the newsstand is more information-heavy,” the Data Vandals remarked. “We focused on discussing the Midtown area to highlight some local buildings as well as unique attributes, like its proximity to one of the deepest water tunnels in the USA.”

Jen Ray is a multidisciplinary artist, so the installation wouldn’t be complete without her brushstrokes. Hand-drawn works for the installation were converted into digital graphics that are featured on the outside panels.

“I find working on the Data Vandals artwork so fulfilling,” Ray said. “My regular art practice is pretty time-intensive, and the Data Vandals paintings are more intuitive and fast-paced. For the newsstand takeover, I also enjoyed working with the designers to create a ‘visual takeover’ of the space. The data always inspires the art!”

When asked about her experience on the project, Blaiotta said, “Honestly, it was a joy. At Greater, we love collaborating with our clients and their partners, and Jen and Jason at Data Vandals are both incredibly creative designers. It’s always great to work with people who speak the same language.”

Share your voice at the newsstand every Friday and Sunday from 3-6pm, and don’t miss these upcoming Archtober-exclusive events:

Screening of Gateways to New York: Othmar H. Ammann and His Bridges
Friday October 23, 6-8pm

Enjoy a selected feature film directed by Martin Witz from Architecture & Design Film Festival (ADFF) in NYC’s smallest, hottest, loudest cinema.  

Rats in the City: Costume Competition!
‍Friday October 30, 7–9pm

Join rat experts, rat enthusiasts, and maybe a couple of rats for a Halloween costume competition to close out the Archtober take over.

‍

About Data Vandals

Data Vandals is a NYC art duo (Jen Ray, artist and Jason Forrest, dataviz expert) creating public installations, workshops, and participatory exhibitions that turn data into art and create participatory experiences in cities around the world. Driven by the conviction that meaningful change happens when art meets community, we have engaged thousands of people through exhibitions, performances, and workshops.

About Greater

Greater is a NYC-based brand and web agency that partners with startups, enterprises, and cultural institutions. We design and build scalable systems that grow with our clients, and we treat every engagement as a partnership, not a handoff.