Analysis of the Modernist Features in the Design of Harry Beck’s London Underground Map

I chose Harry Beck’s London Underground Map because it is an iconic piece of information design and is a key part of London’s identity. London Transport Museum director Sam Mullins said 'Beck's map was revolutionary in its simplicity. The map is not a geographically accurate map; it is a diagram or plan, but the decision to design it like this meant it was much simpler to read and so drastically improved travellers’ ability to navigate the complex tube routes.

Harry Beck began redesigning the Underground Map in his spare time in 1931. By 1931, years of growth resulted in the London Underground network being too complex for a normal map, and the legibility has been likened to a bowl of spaghetti. Beck said of his idea “Looking at the old map of the railways, it occurred to me that it might be possible to tidy it up by straightening the lines, experimenting with diagonals and evening out the distances between stations.”

His design was considered so radical it was initially rejected. However, he later resubmitted his design and it was accepted. A successful test run of 500 copies were printed in 1932, and by 1933, the map had been produced as a pocket map with 750,000 copies printed, and he continued to redefine the design until 1959. The design was so influential it inspired maps for New York and Sydney, and a variation of his design is still being used today.

Over the years the design has changed to keep up with the additions of the likes of the Overground and Emirates Air Line cable car. The map is designed beautifully, and provided a much needed clear presentation of the tube routes. It follows a tidy grid, and uses simple geometric forms. Each line is either vertical, horizontal or 45°. He was a technical draughtsman who was influenced by the conventional symbols used by engineers for circuit diagrams, so interchangeable stations were diamonds and different train lines were different colours.

This logic has been compared to that of Mondrian’s paintings. Perhaps this is why we connect so well with the map, because it reminds us of the simple patterns of Mondrian’s paintings we’re all familiar with. Or simply because its straightforward structure is simple to read, as it follows simple geometric structures that Mondrian uses.

The simplistic design suggests that the underground system itself is also simple. Beck put stations at equal intervals: in reality, some stations are just 200m from each other whilst others are over a mile between. Central areas where there are more stations are now more spaced out so you can read the station names, whilst the outskirts are more condensed so as not to take up too much space and to be able to produce a pocket sized map. If a traveller were to pull out a geographically accurate map of the underground on the tube, it would be huge. Beck’s design accommodates for the context in which the design will be used; on the train where space is limited. The compact pocket sized design also reduced printing costs as the map takes up less paper, allowing it to be distributed on a larger scale.

Both the idea and the design of the idea display modernist features: function, a more efficient use of map space, progress from pre-existing ideas of what a map should look like.

It also represents another feature of modernism; truth, of lack of the truth. Beck made the radical decision of straying from the complete truth by not creating a geographically accurate map. By doing so however, it gave him more freedom in his design (as he wasn’t restricted to being completely accurate), which allowed him to simplify the map right down.

However, the map was met with criticism as it’s not geographically accurate. A result of this is highlighted in the Designer Maker User book, which talks about how house buyers were misled into thinking they were purchasing properties closer to central stations than they were. Someone even went as far as to even demand a geographically accurate map from Transport for London. I found this really interesting image of the London Underground map showing the true underground routes and location of tube stops.

I traced the request back to a post on WhatDoTheyKnow, a Freedom of Information request site, by James Burbage, asking for “a geographically accurate map of all the stations, platforms, lines and tracks that form the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and National Rail services where applicable.” Transport for London produced this map, using the same colours, typefaces and symbols as the regular map, but with the accurate routes displayed, showing a confusing mix of wavy lines:

In an article about this alternative map, Helena Horton describes the geographically accurate map as “showing all the different Underground branches tangled together like multicoloured spaghetti.”, showing how much harder the map is to read when the stations aren’t spread out and the lines aren’t vertical, horizontal or 45°, and how much easier Beck’s design is to read.

I wonder if who would find this geographically accurate map more helpful when using the underground than Beck’s simplified map. Beck’s map perfectly fits its purpose of clarifying the underground map by focusing on showing travellers the sequence of stations. A traveller doesn’t need to know the distance between stations or the direction in which the train is traveling, only how many stops away their station is. For above ground, walking, cycling, driving, or judging distances, it is completely impractical. Distances between stations aren't all the same, trains don’t travel in straight lines and the stations aren’t in the exact location they appear. But the map’s sole purpose was to help travellers use the Underground, not as a replacement to accurate maps of London. One wouldn’t plan their above ground map according to an underground map. The map was made to plan underground journeys, not above ground

Also in Tom Lubbock’s article ‘Great Works: The London Underground Map’ for Independent, he says of the map “It can perform its function, the clear presentation of information about tube routes, and it can also take off onto free, creative shaping.” This is a really nice way of summarising the map; Beck produced something to simplify the existing tube map, whilst at the same time taking the opportunity to make something really beautiful out of it.

The Underground Map design was the perfect solution to the confusing underground system, and has become one of the most iconic pieces of information design, influencing the design of maps around the world.