All posts tagged: Harry Beck

Historical Map: Circular London Underground Map Sketch, Harry Beck, c. 1964

April 14, 2013
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For those who thought that the two circular London Underground diagrams I featured earlier this year — by Jonny Fisher and Maxwell Roberts — were a completely modern twist on an old classic, here’s a reminder of just how forward-thinking Harry Beck really was. This is a sketch, dated to 1964 at the earliest (due to his adoption of Paul Garbutt’s dot-in-a-circle device for main line interchange stations), that presents the Circle Line as a […]

London Underground Abstract: Barbican by Nick Saltmarsh

February 15, 2013
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I’m totally loving this series of work by Nick Saltmarsh on Flickr. By zooming right in on details of the Tube Map, he makes us take another look at something that’s so familiar and ubiquitous. Check out the full set here. Some are more successful than others, but all are interesting… and some make awesome abstract art pieces.

Video: Making of a London Underground String Map by Dan Coffey

January 31, 2013
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Feeling creative? Why not make a string art replica of your favourite subway system as shown in this awesome video? The pro tip is definitely the taping down of the actual map before putting in the nails for guaranteed fidelity to the real thing. Source: Dan Coffey/Vimeo

Unofficial Map: Circular Tube Map by Maxwell Roberts

January 30, 2013
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Apparently, circular Tube Maps are like London buses – none come forever, then two arrive at the same time. This one is by Maxwell Roberts, an expert on the London Underground map if there ever was one. He’s personally redrawn multiple, multiple versions of the map in just about every possible configuration, just to see what works and what doesn’t. Many are featured in his excellent book, Underground Maps Unravelled, which I promise I’ll review properly […]

Unofficial Map: “Orbital” London Underground Map by Jonny Fisher

January 28, 2013
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Here’s an interesting new look at the London Underground from architect/designer/writer Jonny Fisher. It’s always fun when someone reinterprets something as well known as this: every designer approaches the same problem differently. For me, this map isn’t wholly successful, but it’s definitely thought-provoking. Have we been there? Yes. What we like: A bold attempt at a redesign of possibly the most well-known transit map of all. The “orbital” theme actually makes a lot of sense: […]

Google Doodle Celebrates the London Tube’s 150th Birthday!

January 9, 2013
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The Metropolitan Line – first part of what was to become today’s London Underground – was opened on January 9, 1863 between Paddington and Farringdon Street via Kings Cross. See my other posts about the London Underground here. Source: google.co.uk home page

“Storylines”: the Literary London Tube Map by Anna Burles

December 20, 2012
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Mash-Up Maps, Unofficial Maps
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Storylines London’s iconic tube map is transformed into a pit-stop journey through classic styles of storytelling, with the individual tube lines turned into genres and sub genres of literature. The depths of the Northern Line are made over into the aptly named Horror Line. The Bakerloo Line coursing past Sherlock Holmes’s Baker Street becomes, of course, the Crime & Mystery Line. And the pink trajectory of the Hammersmith & City is converted to the Romance […]

TubeTable

December 4, 2012
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If you’ve got a spare 1500 quid lying around, you could pick up this sweet London Tube coffee table by artist Alex Hammond for Christmas. Limited edition of 50. See also: MetroTable, a Moscow Metro-themed coffee table. Source: Alex’s website – link no longer active

Fantasy Map: A Tube Map of the Periodic Table of Elements

November 26, 2012
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Submitted by the awesome Gnimmel’s House of Maps, who says: There are a lot of infographics around which are based on the tube map, and a lot which are based on the periodic table. So I decided to combine the two. Here’s a tube map of the periodic table (see also here for more details) and there’s also a periodic table of the tube map. Transit Maps says: Science combined with a tube map equals a […]

Historical Map: 1949 London Underground Quad Royal Poster

November 15, 2012
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This photo, shared by Flickr user IsarSteve, shows an absolutely amazing discovery. Construction work at the Knightsbridge Underground station in 1996 uncovered this stunning 1949 quad royal* poster of the Tube map. It looks as if the workers know they’ve found something wonderful as well, judging by the yellow and black warning tape surrounding the frame. For many, the 1949 tube map is the apotheosis of the Beck style, with his ruthless quest for simplification […]