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London Underground by Design
London Underground By Design is the beautifully illustrated new book from Mark Ovenden, the acclaimed author of Great Railway Maps of the World, published to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the Tube in 2013.
Since its establishment 150 years ago as the world's first urban subway, the London Underground has continuously set a benchmark for design that has influenced transit systems from New York to Tokyo, Moscow to Paris and beyond. London Underground by Design is the first meticulous study of every aspect of that feat, a comprehensive history of one of the world's most celebrated design achievements, and of the visionaries who brought it to life.
Beginning in the pioneering Victorian age, Mark Ovenden charts the evolution of architecture, branding, typeface, map design, interior and textile styles, posters, signage and graphic design and how these came together to shape not just the Underground's identity, but the character of London itself. This is the story of celebrated designers - from Frank Pick, the guru who conceptualised the modern Tube's look under the 'design fit for purpose' mantra, to Harry Beck, Tube diagram creator, and from Marion Dorn, one of the twentieth century's leading textile designers, to Edward Johnston, creator of the distinctive font that bears his name, as well as Leslie Green, designer of central London's distinctive ruby-red tiled stations, and the Design Research Unit's head, Misha Black, who in the 1960s rebranded British Railways and created the Victoria line's distinctive style, and Sir Norman Foster, architect of Canary Wharf station.
Since its establishment 150 years ago as the world's first urban subway, the London Underground has continuously set a benchmark for design that has influenced transit systems from New York to Tokyo, Moscow to Paris and beyond. London Underground by Design is the first meticulous study of every aspect of that feat, a comprehensive history of one of the world's most celebrated design achievements, and of the visionaries who brought it to life.
Beginning in the pioneering Victorian age, Mark Ovenden charts the evolution of architecture, branding, typeface, map design, interior and textile styles, posters, signage and graphic design and how these came together to shape not just the Underground's identity, but the character of London itself. This is the story of celebrated designers - from Frank Pick, the guru who conceptualised the modern Tube's look under the 'design fit for purpose' mantra, to Harry Beck, Tube diagram creator, and from Marion Dorn, one of the twentieth century's leading textile designers, to Edward Johnston, creator of the distinctive font that bears his name, as well as Leslie Green, designer of central London's distinctive ruby-red tiled stations, and the Design Research Unit's head, Misha Black, who in the 1960s rebranded British Railways and created the Victoria line's distinctive style, and Sir Norman Foster, architect of Canary Wharf station.
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2013
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About the author
Mark Ovenden
11 books15 followersMark Ovenden is a British writer and broadcaster whose previous books include Transit Maps of the World and Paris Underground: The Maps, Stations and Designs of the Metro. He lives in Paris, France."
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
June 7, 2016
A fantastic history of the London Underground the covers every aspect of the system's visual design (architecture, graphic design, branding, etc.), in celebration of its 150th anniversary.
Anyone who's used Tube can attest to its strong visual design: I don't think there's another system in the world as complex as the Tube that's as easy to navigate, and that's down to the visual design. Stations and lines have their own identity while still being unmistakably part of a consistent overall visual language. What's most fascinating about this is that it was evolved and honed from a system that was originally patchwork of entirely different private companies operating their own lines. Along the way, the Underground became one of the first organizations to create a visual brand, and it's this journey that Mark Ovenden's book is about.
The Underground has such a rich history that there's lots to cover here, and Ovenden does a great job of taking readers through it with obvious enthusiasm. The book is full of examples of early station architecture, publicity posters, signage, etc. A real treat for any design nerd!
My only complaint, which kept this from being a 5-star review, is that the structure of the book was a bit awkward to read. Each chapter (covering a specific period of the Underground's history) is divided into two parts: one section with all the text, and then a section of all the illustrations, with captions. But the text in the first part constantly refers to specific illustrations in the second part, forcing you to keep flipping back and forth as you read through the text. Any large book like this is going to have a certain amount of cross-referencing, but this was constant and annoying. Even within the captions themselves, the illustrations are often referred to out-of-order. For example a page with 4 numbered, identical-size poster pictures, the caption text will refer to them in the order 2, 4, 3, 1. Why not just arrange them in the order they're discussed? I guess in a book about design, layout problems like this stand out that much more.
Anyone who's used Tube can attest to its strong visual design: I don't think there's another system in the world as complex as the Tube that's as easy to navigate, and that's down to the visual design. Stations and lines have their own identity while still being unmistakably part of a consistent overall visual language. What's most fascinating about this is that it was evolved and honed from a system that was originally patchwork of entirely different private companies operating their own lines. Along the way, the Underground became one of the first organizations to create a visual brand, and it's this journey that Mark Ovenden's book is about.
The Underground has such a rich history that there's lots to cover here, and Ovenden does a great job of taking readers through it with obvious enthusiasm. The book is full of examples of early station architecture, publicity posters, signage, etc. A real treat for any design nerd!
My only complaint, which kept this from being a 5-star review, is that the structure of the book was a bit awkward to read. Each chapter (covering a specific period of the Underground's history) is divided into two parts: one section with all the text, and then a section of all the illustrations, with captions. But the text in the first part constantly refers to specific illustrations in the second part, forcing you to keep flipping back and forth as you read through the text. Any large book like this is going to have a certain amount of cross-referencing, but this was constant and annoying. Even within the captions themselves, the illustrations are often referred to out-of-order. For example a page with 4 numbered, identical-size poster pictures, the caption text will refer to them in the order 2, 4, 3, 1. Why not just arrange them in the order they're discussed? I guess in a book about design, layout problems like this stand out that much more.
March 31, 2025
A well illustrated and interesting book. The author draws out how London Transport ( in its various iterations) is a pioneer in design and architecture.
February 7, 2016
Disappointing -- factual errors, sloppy editing, but first and foremost, the book has been designed for a much larger format, but produced as a paperback, meaning most of the illustrations are all too small.
November 12, 2023
Really a book for for design geeks and transport enthusiasts but it includes an interesting historical narrative and some engaging art work too.
June 27, 2013
Probabilmente sarò l'unica lettrice sulla faccia della terra ad appassionarsi ad un libro che parla dell'evoluzione della metropolitana londinese negli ultimi 150 anni. Se mi conosceste bene, però, sapreste che ho una certa fissa per l'argomento; in quel caso, vedermi incollata alle foto d'epoca per ore non stupirebbe nessuno.
February 6, 2016
Interesting pictures but a lot on typefaces and the introductions to each chapter are a bit long and repeat the text later in the chapter.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews