An unemployed electrical draftsman by the name of Harry Beck designed this classic 20th century London Underground Map in 1931. Also known as a “Tube Map” the typeface used was designed by Edward Johnston. He created Johnston Sans with legibility in mind so that all of the busy people on the platforms would be able to see it. I believe he had originally developed this typeface in 1916. His typeface influenced a man named Eric Gill, who studied under Edward. Gill created “Gill Sans” which became very accepted in 1929 and used as a regular typeface for the London and North Eastern Railway. From there it grew even farther, from companies to everyday usage Gill Sans was used and it can still can be found everywhere today. Becks map was designed keeping the people in mind; previously it became hard for passengers to understand. He used colours and shapes and enlarged areas for legibility. He was able to simplify the routes and make it small enough to be folded into pamphlets that passengers could take with them. I think that this design is a good example of the speedy advances being made in the early 90’s in digital computer hardware and software. I feel that overall the design of this map is a good example of information design the use of colour really helps to clarify it. The fact that today London is still using a variation of his map today helps to prove that.
Image source: http://wobblingsolutions.wordpress.com/2010/05/20/3-a-single-person-for-a-big-group/
Well done Holly, thanks for all your interesting research.
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