150 Years of London Underground Design

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Forthcoming Arts Society Chiswick lecture given by Mark Ovenden

Arts Society Chiswick is holding a lecture entitled '150 Years of London Underground Design' by Mark Ovenden on 12 March at the Polish Centre, King Street, Hammersmith.

Since its establishment 150 years ago as the world's first urban subway, the London Underground has continuously set a benchmark for design that has influenced transit systems from New York to Tokyo, Moscow to Paris and beyond.

This lecture is based on Mark’s book London Underground by Design, which is a comprehensive history of one of the world's most celebrated design achievements, and of the visionaries who brought it to life.

Beginning in the pioneering Victorian age, Mark charts the evolution of architecture, branding, typeface, map design, interior and textile styles, posters, signage and graphic design and how these came together to shape not just the Underground's identity, but the character of London itself.

This is the story of celebrated designers - from Frank Pick, the guru who conceptualised the modern Tube's look under the 'design fit for purpose' mantra, to Harry Beck, Tube diagram creator; from Marion Dorn, one of the twentieth century's leading textile designers, to Edward Johnston, creator of the distinctive font that bears his name, as well as Leslie Green, designer of central London's distinctive ruby-red tiled stations, and the Design Research Unit's head, Misha Black, who in the 1960s rebranded British Railways and created the Victoria line's distinctive style, and Sir Norman Foster, architect of Canary Wharf station.

Mark Ovenden is a broadcaster and author who specialises in the subjects of graphic design, cartography and architecture in public transport, with an emphasis on underground rapid transit.
His first book, Metro Maps of the World, published in 2003, is a guide to the diagrams, plans and maps of underground rapid transit system. Paris Metro Style in map and station design followed in 2008 and Railway Maps of the World in 2011. London Underground by Design was published in 2013 and in 2016 Johnston & Gill: Very British Types. In July 2017 Mark fronted a television documentary for BBC Four on this subject and in November 2018 he presented a documentary for BBC Radio 4 on skyscrapers.

Lectures start at 8pm. Bar opens at 7pm.

Non-members are welcome for a fee of £10 on the door.

March 5, 2020