London Underground Graphics

I chose to talk about the London underground graphics as I think they are amazingly simple and effective. The effect the graphics should have is to be immediate and clear. The stylised mapping of London into this simple effective map makes navigating around incredibly simple, just as simple as the design.



This logo is extremely well known and if you saw this in another country you would know what it was showing. The colours, font and shapes are so well known that if you were walking down a busy crowded street looking for an underground tube station and you glanced around and briefly saw this sign you would know automatically that there was a station there.



The oyster card is almost as well known now as the underground itself. The colour complements the blue in the underground sign and the card is well known by the majority in London. The font on the oyster card is a friendly, informal font and contrasts with the sharp font of the underground signage.



I like this font as I think that the clarity and simplicity of it make it a friendly font that you can read easily, and as it has been so effective and used for so long that it has become a classic font. I think the combination of curves and angles has a good balance and I think this is what makes it a sophisticated font.