#henrybeck

[annstreetstudio-blog]

More photos of my grandfather in Berlin...wasn't he a handsome man?

[annstreetstudio-blog]

The poem my grandfather wrote when he was stationed in Berlin...

[annstreetstudio-blog]

From Germany with love...the story of my grandfather as a soldier in Berlin...

[carahotz]

London Underground: Groundbreaking Information and Experience Design

This London Underground Diagram of Lines—a little gem of wayfinding and information design—has a copyright of 1958 and includes the imprint “H.C. Beck” at the corner. Henry Beck designed the modern Tube map in 1931, and it was first distributed in 1933. His innovative, minimal design of distinctive colors, 90- and 45-degree strokes for rail lines, and the Thames River as the only above-ground landmark, simplified what was a tangled mess into a streamlined, easy to understand system for traveling around the city.

Check out the map before Mr. Beck got his hands on it:

Because the London Underground is just that—underground—wayfinding does not require the mapped route lines to follow actual tracks. Instead, the stations at ground level are situated correctly on the map relative to one another, without the burden of complete route accuracy. This is the innovation: the realization that what is important to passengers is getting from one station to another, not how the track meanders between the stations below ground and unseen.

“Make a map” is not the scope. “Create an easy experience to travel via Tube” is. Looking past the obvious task at hand to the true goals and challenges of a problem is how to use design to elevate the experience.

The design was solution to a complex challenge, and what makes it really great, is that it grows with the Tube. Today’s map (above) looks strikingly similar to the 1958 version—a testament to the success of the design. More routes, more stations, and now travel zones are incorporated into the contemporary scheme, but it’s definitely the same system. Henry Beck’s audience-centric approach for the Tube map is a champion example of how design enhances living and creates a richer, more compelling experience for people.

Download the current Tube Map (shown above) here.