A Beautifully Illustrated Book On London Transport Design Icons

Tabish Khan
By Tabish Khan Last edited 87 months ago
A Beautifully Illustrated Book On London Transport Design Icons
No book on London transport icons would be complete without Harry Beck's tube map. Image courtesy London Transport Museum

Transport book London by Design contains 100 London transport design icons covering everything from black cabs to the Baker Street station platforms, via the Routemaster, the Tottenham Court Road mosaics and of course Harry Beck's tube map.

The book was released in 2016 to coincide with London Transport Museum's Designology exhibition.

A dramatic view of the Baker Street platforms. Image courtesy London Transport Museum

It's an accessible book designed for the uninitiated, so hardcore transport aficionados may not find anything new in here. Each transport feature gets a double page spread with a few facts and where it can be seen or found — the latter is a nice touch.

Some of the 100 are a bit suspect. We wouldn't consider the Emirates air line a design icon, or even the new Routemaster — though arguably it's the functionality that lets it down rather than the design.

Cyril A Farey's painting of the then new circular ticket hall at Piccadily Circus. Image courtesy London Transport Museum

The book is beautifully illustrated and a nice introduction to anyone who wants to know more about transport design in London.

London by Design: the iconic transport designs that shaped the city by TfL, published by Ebury Press is available for £20.

The original Routemaster is a design icon, though we're not sure if the new one deserves that status. Image courtesy London Transport Museum

Last Updated 13 January 2017

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