dissertation research

design

design: contribution to design history, impact on London as a city and globally, inuenced other metro systems around the world, branding and identity, Frank Pick, Harry Beck. historical: ďŹ rst ever Underground system, transport around the Capital became easier, development of the design.

economical: people can travel more easily, therefore people spend money in more places, chosen means of transport for Londoners, Total number of passengers carried each year: 1,229 million.

Social: Quick, safe, comfortable way to travel Political: Mayor has inuence over Transport for London.

research

‘How has the iconic design of the Underground contributed to London as a major world city?’

How have Frank Pick’s designs influenced London?

Oliver Green Mark Ovenden David Bownes

research undertaken

Mark Ovenden, London Underground by Design, Particular Books, 2013 David Bownes, Underground: How the tube shaped London, Allen Lane; First Edition, First Printing edition, 2012 David Long, London Underground: Architecture, Design and History, The History Press Ltd; First Edition edition, 2011 Ken Garland, Mr. Beck’s Underground Map, Capital Transport Publishing; Reprint edition, 1994

Transport for London Museum TFL Library 150 London Underground Poster Tour

further research

Email Tom Cavanagh (tour guide at the London Transport art and poster tour.

Watch BBC 2 documentary ‘Design Classics’ London Underground Map Attend Oliver Green’s talk on Frank Picks London: Art, design and the modern city on monday 4th November at the TFL headquarters.

Frank Pick changed the face of London in the twentieth century through design management. Famously described by Nikolaus Pevsner as “the greatest patron of the arts whom this century has produced in England”, he was head of the Underground in the 1920s and led London Transport from 1933.

Pick’s great passion was for good applied design in everything from graphics to station architecture, from bus engineering to Tube trains. He shaped the city more than anyone since Christopher Wren and worked closely with the V&A to create its modern poster collections and bring art, commerce and industry together. Join Oliver Green, Research Fellow at the London Transport Museum and author of Frank Pick’s London, as he discusses the life and work of this great man.

practical element

On 9 January 2013, London Underground celebrated 150 years since the ďŹ rst underground journey took place between Paddington and Farringdon on the Metropolitan Railway.

Create an exhibition space showcasing a speciďŹ c area of design within the London Underground, celebrating its 150 year anniversary.

Things to consider (deliverables) Promotional material for the exhibition Catalogue Blog