Visual Essays

The 2009 London Underground map (Image: Transport for London)

In 2011 the UK’s design community was rocked (or nudged, depending on your viewpoint), by a frosty televisual exchange between information designer David McCandless and the infamously opinionated Neville Brody. Appearing on BBC 2′s flagship current affairs programme Newsnight, the pair debated the validity of information design, with McCandless in favour and Brody against. Whilst the jury’s out on whether information graphics is indeed ‘the language of the eye’ (McCandless) or just ‘beguiling and seductive’, (Brody), it was a treat to see graphic design go ‘mainstream’ — even if it was at a quarter to eleven on a weekday night. However, all this talk about information graphics got me thinking about the value of information design, and about the influence of one info-graphic in particular.

The London Underground map is perhaps one of the most famous (and effective) designs of the 20th century, so when questioning the validity of information design it’s hard take a dim view when considering the map’s profound influence. But what excites me about information graphics and specifically the London Underground map, is that this type of info-graphic suggests something found very rarely in graphic design. Perfection.

Mark Ovenden (Image: Annie Mole)

Many years ago, whilst studying at university, I happened to attend a lecture on information design delivered by author and journalist Mark Ovenden. Compiled to promote his new book Transit Maps of the World, Ovenden’s talk showcased his research into how the world’s great cities tackled mass-transit mapping, introducing an audience of under-grads to the trials and tribulations of every information designer’s wet-dream.

The Tokyo Subway Route Map (Image: Bureau of Transportation, Tokyo Metropolitan Government)

I remember the most striking aspect of Ovenden’s talk was the shear breadth of mapping presented — never before had I seen so many metro maps in one place. However, instead of seeing a diverse set of mapping solutions, it soon became apparent that most of the world’s transit maps shared a single graphic ancestor: Henry Beck’s (known to many as Harry Beck) trail-blazing interpretation of the London Underground.

Harry Beck's original interpretation of the London Underground network (Image: Transport for London)

Originally drafted in 1931, Beck’s schematic re-design of the London Underground network was staggeringly original. His use of topological distancing (as opposed to geographically accurate distancing), simple iconography and the introduction of a 45-degree grid suggested a perfect solution for transit mapping.

The London Underground map before the adoption of Beck's 1931 re-design (Image: Transport for London)

In stark contrast London Underground’s previous effort, whilst well intentioned, suddenly seemed difficult to read by comparison.

A detail of Transport for London's 2009 re-design (Image: Transport for London)

And it’s time that’s proved the effectiveness of Beck’s approach. Since, despite being one of the most re-designed maps in existence, the logical structure Beck proposed has remained unshakable. Even Transport for London’s most recent update could do little to better it, opting for a spring-clean rather than a complete overhaul.

The Paris Métro et RER (Image: Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens)

Yet the strongest argument for the power of Beck’s design is it’s massive influence over this form of information design: a glance at any contemporary metro map is essentially a window onto the past, showing the same graphic system Beck defined nearly a century ago. With such extensive take up, Beck’s ideas on mass-transit mapping can be seen as vital now as they were in the 1930s: an astonishing achievement for any design, let alone an info-graphic.

And it’s this near uniform adoption of Beck’s approach to mass-transit information design that suggests he hit on some kind of perfection with his approach.

Yet, to use the word ‘perfection’ could be considered somewhat an oxymoron in the field of graphic design. Design itself is a changeable vessel, a conduit for communication limited only by a designer’s skill. Perfection shouldn’t exist in a medium that offers an infinite set of valid responses, so how can there be such a thing as a ‘perfect design’?

Perfection? (Image: Getty Images)

The term ‘perfection’ is a very loaded word; when thinking about perfection, the mind immediately comes to rest on ideas of impossible beauty. It’s word filled with classic allusions: beautiful cars, beautiful villas, beautiful people; there’s an ephemeral quality about the word that suggests proportion, balance and grace. Obviously, while design can be all these things it’s very hard for design to be viewed as conclusively perfect: subjectivity simply won’t allow it. However, what makes Beck’s design timeless (and arguably perfect) is that his map is an information graphic, a very particular form of graphic design.

Information design is a form of design that values the clarity of its message above all other concerns; the medium’s sole aim is to communicate as quickly and as efficiently as possible. With this in mind, Beck’s map can be considered one of the finest examples of information graphics ever created — it’s efficiency defined.

Beck realised the previous London Underground maps attempted to communicate too much: the public didn’t need to know how far the next station was, they just needed to know how it was connected. The most important and immediate thing the public needed to know was their context within the system. By identifying this and other redundant information on the existing London Underground map, Beck was able to ditch a stylistic approach, letting the map’s function define the design’s overall aesthetic.

Harry Beck's original sketch for his version of the London Underground map (Image: The Victoria & Albert Museum)

By realising such a closed, artificial system could suggest it’s own interpretation Beck acted as a guide, letting the map represent itself through the filter of his topological system. By trusting the data at hand he was able to create a map free from aesthetic choice and subjectivity. Beck’s masterstroke was to let logic define his design, and I think it’s this dogged logic that makes his map perfect, since, as Spock would point out: you cannot argue with logic.

The importance of logic in information design cannot be underestimated. Since info-graphics are regularly employed to describe the abstract, any diagram’s logic has to be solid enough to carry the reader through; this is especially important when there are no figurative images to fall back on. Beck’s map is devoid of pictorial representation, existing as a collection of topologically distanced points. It’s a map created from perfectly executed logic, and so by its nature, is perfectly executed.

The mind-bending MTA New York Subway map (Image: Metropolitan Transportation Authority)

Though my opinion on Beck’s map is obviously subjective I urge you to think about the mess made when designers try to amend his approach to transit-mapping. Though an excellent designer, Michael Hertz’s re-design of the New York Subway map was an info-graphic car crash of curvy lines and confused iconography.

Massimo Vignelli’s 1972 MTA New York Subway map (Image: Metropolitan Transportation Authority)

By attempting to reject Massimo Vignelli’s (and duly Beck’s) ideas on topological distancing, Hertz created an extremely ineffective version of this form of info-graphic.

The KICKMap, an independent re-design of the MTA New York Subway map (Image: KICKMap)

As an aside, such was the frustration with the Hertz re-design, the KICKMap was created: a further re-design of New York Subway map that pulled the logic of New York’s mass-transit info-graphic closer to the Beck template.

Dieter Rams's SK4 record player (Image: Design Museum)

So, if a design is primarily concerned with aesthetics, there will always be a number of visual solutions that will be just as valid as the next. Obviously, some choices will be better than others, but I would argue that since aesthetics imply choice, there will always be a slightly different way to approach a successful design. In comparison, logical design offers a definitive conclusion. In other words, a solution that is quantifiably better than all others — a perfect solution.

While extreme, these ideas on logic and aesthetics inform day-to-day design more than you think. ‘Form follows function’ and ‘starting with a big idea’ are just two familiar adages that recognise great design has logic firmly at it’s core.

Communication stripped to the bare-minimum

Whilst not always exercises in logical thought, timeless design has a lot in common with great information design because both recognise the importance of stripping back the superfluous to reveal the bare minimum. Removing visual or physical chaff reduces the work the audience have to put in to read the message your design wishes to communicate. Great icons, products, branding, cars, buildings — regardless of the form they take, are all products of design and are consequently there to communicate something, and anything that makes this interplay easier needs to be embraced.

Beck’s London Underground map is one of the finest examples of this visual efficiency and while the map’s restrictive medium goes a long way to making this possible, the endurance of Beck’s thinking should be seen as evidence of a basic truth in graphic design: simplicity is the essence of good design.