the tube map
DESIGN ICONS #1
WORDS // KATIE WHITTINGTON
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T
he Tube Map as we know it today was
designed by Harry Beck, who first
succeeded in untangling the mass of London
Underground lines in 1931. In doing so, he
created a piece of art that works.
Although trained as a draftsman, Beck’s
defining work, combining primary colours
with grids of black lines is closer to that
of contemporary modern artists like Piet
Mondrian.
Taking inspiration from an electric circuit
diagram, Beck figured people riding the tube
were less interested in physical geography
and distances than they were in navigating
easily between stations. He used the River
Thames as the only anchor for direction.
The design, perfected by Beck in his
spare time, was considered too radical by
Underground bosses who initially rejected it.
But Beck stuck to his guns and after a trial of
just 500 copies proved successful, the first
700,000 were printed for the public in 1933.
In later life Beck got tangled up with legal
battles to retain his control over the map, but
his name was removed from copies in 1960
and he gave up the fight five years later. He
complained that he felt “bitter and betrayed
by the very organisation he had helped, so
admirably to promote.”
But his legacy remains essentially unchanged
after more than eighty years of service and
deserves recognition as a true design icon.
66 //
