Black Cabs, Underground posters and the Tube map top the list of London’s most iconic transport designs
Life-long Londoner, city adoptee or just passing through: whatever your relationship with the British capital, it conjures up a strong set of images.
Not least when it comes to our transport. Love it or loathe it (I think we know which one) our daily commute gets imprinted on our brain, and with it the iconic designs that make it so recognisably London.
A new survey of more than 10,000 Londoners has identified the top 10 most iconic transport designs. And while they may be fighting a PR war over Uber and other private hire vehicles, it's the Black Cab that has come out top.
Second was the series of posters and artwork commissioned by Frank Pick while Harry Beck's legendary Tube map came third.
Here are the top 10, as voted for out of a shortlist of 100.
[infographic id="392"]
London’s Transport Commissioner Mike Brown said: “It is fantastic to see that the world famous design of Black Cabs has been selected as London’s favourite transport design.
"The shortlist was so strong that even iconic designs such as our Moquette seating or the Johnston typeface missed out on a top ten position. Through our Design Icons search we want to showcase how, from the Tube map to the smallest detail of the new Routemaster bus, S-stock trains and our multi-billion pound upgrade projects, everything we design is with our customers in mind.”
Sponsored by Exterion Media, the design icons list is part of an 18-month programme of events, exhibitions and competitions that celebrate the role of good design on the capital’s transport network.
The programme will include a temporary exhibition, which runs until next May at the London Transport Museum, a major design festival in Regent Street next summer, activities to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the iconic Johnston typeface next summer and the unveiling of a commemoration at Piccadilly Circus station to former London Transport chief executive, Frank Pick in the autumn.