Anyone who’s been to London is familiar with this map. Overwhelming at first – it does illustrate 11 lines and 270 stations – it doesn’t take too long to get accustomed and know how to use it, even for lost tourists. For this, we have to be thankful to Harry Beck, designer of the . . . → Read More: Underground Map Design]]>

Underground Map

Anyone who’s been to London is familiar with this map. Overwhelming at first – it does illustrate 11 lines and 270 stations – it doesn’t take too long to get accustomed and know how to use it, even for lost tourists. For this, we have to be thankful to Harry Beck, designer of the tube map in 1933. The story behind the map design is very interesting; especially the fact that poor Harry was paid only the equivalent of £5 for his work (his boss didn’t think that the map would be a success so didn’t bother paying him much…£5 is a real bargain for a design that is still the basis of the map used nowadays)!

We came across this version of the map today. It is a representation of how the tube lines exactly are:

Geographical Map

Comparing the two maps confirms Beck’s opinion that “If you’re going underground, why do you need to bother about geography?”. This is great thinking that combines functionality, accuracy and excellent design; no wonder if inspired most other major cities’ subway system maps.

Its electrical diagram shape might have inspired (and still be inspiring) many map designers, still its simplicity and “prettyness,” on a design point of view and according to me, is rarely matched. Take for example the Toronto subway map. It’s not a bad design, but I am not a big fan of mixing the vintage look of the logo to the modern design of the map. A choice should be made to either one of the style. If choosing the modern approach, then I would suggest to whoever revamp the logo to choose a font that makes a bit more sense with the word ‘rocket’…

Toronto's Rocket

Going back to the Tube, while doing a bit of research for this blog I found a website that gives fascinating facts you never knew about the London Underground and thought I’d list a few here, even though most are not design-related:

-The most popular route for tourists is Leicester Square to Covent Garden on the Piccadilly line. It is quicker to walk this distance than travel on the tube.

-The oldest tube line in the world is the Metropolitan line. It opened on the 10th January 1863.

-More of the London Underground is open than in a tunnel (why don’t they change the name to Topground?).

-The peak hour for tube suicides is 11am — People who commit suicide by throwing themselves under tube are called “one-unders”. In New York they are known as “track pizza” (does anyone know what they’re called here, in Toronto?).

-Edward Johnston designed the font for the London Underground in 1916 (and it is now available for sale to use as a commercial fonthere).

-The air in the underground is on average 10°C hotter than the air on the surface.

-Green grapes cause more accidents on the London Underground than banana skins (?!?).

-Only one person was ever born in a tube carriage and her name is Thelma Ursula Beatrice Eleanor – check out her initials. She was born in 1924 on a Bakerloo line train at Elephant & Castle.

-Yellow Car Design once spent a whole night sitting on the floor of a station waiting for their train home because the tube had encountered some difficulties (a one-under, maybe?).

This last fact might have inspired the topic of this blog post. Indeed, beside dodgy people and drunk chavs there wasn’t much to look at at the station during that one night… No wonder the map on the wall in front of us left such an impression on me!

vicky