Located: essays > the underground map

London Underground map: why

Contents: who | what | where | when | how | why

The map was established at a time when Londoners were keen to use but a little nervous about a growing and increasingly complex underground transport system.

It fulfilled the task of simplifying underground travel for Londoners by making the transition from geographically-correct map to functional planner.

Perhaps without realising, Beck through his design had played a major part in marketing the simplicity and convenience of underground travel.

The value of this style of corporate marketing through information design and delivery is reinforced even now.

A recent London Transport survey (London Transport's Computerised Enquiry System, 1998), concluded 80 per cent of customers who called a special help line to inquire about a journey plan had later made that journey - 38 per cent had been influenced to make that journey in a different and better way.

A total of 13 per cent would not have made the journey if not for the help line advice. Though the information delivery method was different, the results illustrate the point.

Perhaps most significant though is the way Beck's London Underground Map has become transparent. Used as a model in many countries and by millions of people daily - today it is rarely seen as little more than a simple and functional tool.

The fact that the beauty of Beck's timeless creation is overlooked by so many is a testament to his legacy.