The London Underground Map

In 1931, Henery Beck designed the innovative, unique London Underground Map (also known as the Tube Map). It was innovative in the way that it was not a generic map, but rather a diagram using purely geometric forms, such as lines representing railway lines and tunnels. He designed the map so that everything went strait; horizontal, vertical or at a 45 degree angle, and the bends were minimal curves.

The typeface used in the London Underground Map was designed by Edward Johnston. It was created so it could be read in a busy atmosphere, and could transfer into small resolutions while still being readable. Johnston created this type in 1916 of the 20th century when Frank Pick commissioned him to created a typeface for the transport system. It wasn't until the 1930's that the typeface was chosen to be used in Beck's Map Design.

Edward Johnston's typeface revolutionized sans serif type, especially after Eric Gill was inspired to create his Gill Sans directly after Johnston's type. Both of these typefaces are still widely used today, and have influenced the creation of many other sans serifs.

The concept behind this map was to create a design that was simple, readable at a glance and to inspire a new way to interpret space. Often designs like maps and representations of surroundings were very literal, and Beck stepped out of the box to create something that was representative of the transport system, while bringing in the concept of space and time through modernism. It essentially cleared the path for designers to use simplification to enhance and get a message across in the most efficient and understandable way.

I enjoy this design as it is extremely simple to understand and follow. I could probably find my way through the undergrounds of London even though I've never been there! The use of colour separates different sections of the underground transport, and the fact that a very similar version of the map is still used today, I would say that the readability and understandability of the map is still pretty damn good for todays standards, making the original design ahead of its time.