What Is Good...

Abram Games (1914-1996)

I felt some of this designers work was appropriate to my research on two levels, it looks at Graphic Design and the transport side of London. The following images are taken from the book 'Poster Journeys - Abram Games and London Transport' compiled by Naomi Games.



This is a poster for London Zoo, I love the simplicity of the design in terms of the limited colour pallet and the simple shapes, which gives a fun and almost childlike effect. The London Underground logo has been incorporated into the design aswell which is clever.

This is the development for the 'Stockwell Swan' platform at Stockwell on the Victoria Line. It's interesting to see the beginning development from initial sketches to the finished lithographed tiles for the seating areas on the platform.

I like how the below image is far more simplified from the previous image, as this is often the case when going through the developmental stages of the design process, you can see where the idea has come from, but they are visually, very different.

This is the finished design in its intended environment, the underground, the colours work really well, and I love the subtle black and orange of the swan's beak, that is what really distinguishes it as a swan rather than a pattern.

Liam Gillick (b. 1964)

Folllowing on my transport theme I looked at the design for the front cover of the London Underground Tube Map. The type on the front represents a significant day in the London Underground history, it was the day before the first ever Tube ran. The colours used are those used for each line on the actual map itself, the colours break up the flow of the words making it awkward to read. Taken from the book, 'The Moving Metropolis - A History of London'd Transport since 1800'.

Cecil Walter Bacon
This is taken from the same book, it is a poster to advertise and promote the extension of the Picadilly Line opening in 1932.

Edward Johnston was a calligrapher, he was approached by Frank Pick, who was responsible for the poster campaign in 1908 for the Underground, he wanted Johnston to design a typeface to be used for the company as he was not satisfied with the ones available. This typeface stuck until 1979 when Banks and Miles redesigned it to improve its ability to be applied while keeping and retaining the initial character, to then be called 'New Johnston'.