2012-05-18
post/23292332454
Three books by Capital Transport Publishing on the history of London’s underground maps: No Need To Ask by David Leboff & Tim Demuth, Mr Beck’s Underground Map by Ken Garland, and Underground Maps After Beck by Maxwell J Roberts.
Taken together, the three cover over a hundred years of maps of the Underground, from the different companies in the early part of the 1900s, through the pivotal 1933 Harry Beck diagram, and to the present day. The writers are all well qualified (Tim Demuth, co-author of No Need To Ask, designed the London Railways map of the 1970s; Ken Garland is a respected designer and writer; while Maxwell Roberts has designed his own maps aided by his primary study of cognition) and, despite some overlaps between the books, generally they cover the story very well.
Probably the most interesting is the middle volume, covering both the route to the Beck diagram, his many variations over the years as lines were extended (and management meddled), and the nearly decade-long fight to keep designing the map in the early 1960s. The book includes the worst diagram since 1933, the Hutchinson design, and a first look at the Garbutt diagram that came to succeed it.
The Garbutt diagram and its slow evolution (as opposed to the Cambrian explosion of variations that Beck produced) is at the heart of the final book, which I think I enjoyed more than many would; the story is one of subtle change, livened mainly by the changing landscape of the system (with the Victoria, Jubilee, and DLR lines expanding the scope of the map).
Overall, I’d recommend Garland’s book on Beck’s diagrams to anyone with even a passing interest in the Underground and mapmaking. Roberts is more for the completist, while those looking for history and more decorative design may enjoy No Need To Ask.
2012-05-17
post/23230569538
Two photos from the amazing, huge pickmix.co.uk site, collecting photographs from the London Transport Museum’s archive. On the left, in a 1977 colour print by Paul Proctor:
The experimental press-button Passenger Route Indicator machine installed in the ticket hall at Heathrow Central (now Heathrow Terminals 1,2,3) Underground station. The indicator incorporated a TV screen designed to display a diagrammatic route map of the chosen journey.
And to the right, a 1974 photograph by H J Hare & Son:
A passenger consults a route indicator machine at Oxford Circus Underground station. Oxford Circus services Central, Victoria and Bakerloo lines.
You can see more of my favourite images from the site. See also: a similar map in Paris.
2012-05-10
post/22791729374
The cover, Ronald Mcdonald, and colour palette pages from a 1970s McDonaldland specification manual, as posted by Jason Liebig.
2012-05-07
post/22575211653
Oyster, Transport for London’s smart card, was introduced in July 2003, but for the first eight years of its life it was wonderfully change-free. The top row of these Oyster card images shows that the only changes were to the TfL roundel, first from red (associated with buses) to white, and then adding the old British Rail logo (now used by National Rail) once ATOC finally allowed sorted out allowing pre-pay on their services.
As early as 2007 there were Oyster visitor cards co-branded with the Tutankhamun exhibition at the O2. There are still visitor travelcards, and there was also an attempt to fuse a debit card and NFC payment system with an Oyster card, although apparently that’s no longer available.
It was last year, however, after TfL took control of the Oyster brand, that they were really able to let rip with custom designs. After the success of last year’s Royal Wedding cards, as predicted, this year sees special cards for 2012 and Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee.
Me? I’ll be happy using my 2003 vintage, red-roundel card, even if nobody gets to see the front any more. (The nice thing about NFC cards? You don’t even have to take them out of your Tube map holder.)
2012-04-30
post/22119072555
The inner sleeves of Tri Repetae, Autechre’s third full length album.
post/22090875322
Photographs of Nowhere And Everywhere At The Same Time by William Forsyth:
In the cavernous space of the empty a group of performers orient themselves amidst a profusion of hanging pendulums, exploring the kinetic and metaphoric potentials of both of these multivalent landscapes.
2012-04-28
post/22000549195
Screenshots of the websites of Gideon Protective Services, Savior Protection Ministries, and Watchman Security Consulting Ministries, three provides of security for US churches as mentioned in God is Watching, and So Am I: The Theology of Surveillance.
