Project
NYC Open Data Infographic
Content · Marketing · Decentralized
Overview
Filecoin Foundation and Protocol Labs ran an experimental project to archive New York City’s Open Data on the Filecoin network — a proof of concept for decentralised storage as public infrastructure. The challenge was communicating this to policymakers, civic technologists and researchers with no web3 context. Complex data flows, economic incentives and distributed storage mechanisms all needed to be made legible to people who had never heard of Filecoin.
Approach
The core design decision was to use the NYC subway map as the visual metaphor — a system New Yorkers navigate intuitively, built on the same underlying logic as a distributed network: nodes, routes, transfers and endpoints. This gave the infographic a familiar entry point before introducing unfamiliar concepts. Data flows, storage deals and economic incentives were mapped onto the subway diagram structure, making the abstract tangible without requiring any technical prior knowledge. The result reads as civic information design as much as a technology explainer.
Outcomes
The infographic was published alongside a Filecoin Foundation blog post documenting the project, serving as both a technical explainer and a public-facing proof of concept. The subway map approach cut through the complexity in a way a standard diagram wouldn’t — making the piece shareable and legible well beyond the web3 audience. It showed that, with the right visual framing, decentralised infrastructure can be communicated to anyone.