Ken Garland

The London Underground’s wayfinding system is an extraordinary example of directional signage. In fact not only has it won the respect of the international design community, it also remains as a fond memory for anyone who has visited London and taken ‘The Tube’. This book, published by the London Transport Commission is a history of Harry Beck’s map. The London Underground’s managing director had once dismissed a suggestion from Beck, a junior draftsman, for a new approach to mapping its railway using a simple diagrammatic method based on straight lines. Influenced by the recession of 1932, the M-D was persuaded to give it a try. It was immediately embraced by the public, though no one ever attempted to measure its commercial value to the Underground. The map’s successors are still with Londoners today and its principles have been used in many other cities and countries.