These ’roundels’ are such a part of London. Their colours make them easy to spot, and the simple lettering means that they can be read even through rain, and often from quite a distance.

This one is outside Charing Cross Station, and was photographed from the top of a bus. The pigeons flew off just as the camera clicked.

Apparently there is no one person’s name on the clear branding of the Underground signs, but it seems that the creative vision of two men in particular resulted in the symbol rooting its way through the city.

The man who designed the lettering on the roundel was Edward Johnston CBE (1872 – 1944). He was already well-known as a calligrapher when Frank Pick (1878 – 1941), the Chief Executive of London Transport, asked him to design the lettering for the capital’s transport system. The typeface – Johnston sans serif – was ready by 1916. The style, which must have looked different to most typefaces of its time, is now over a hundred years old and still doing well. It is clear and easy to read, especially when surrounded in the bold eye-catcher colours of the roundel. The design and lettering of the signs have been tweaked over the years, but they are still like beacons, whether you’re on foot or looking at a map, there they are, flagging up the transport options, and belonging always to London.

Edward Johnston loved good lettering for its ‘readableness, beauty and character’, and Frank Pick loved design for the harmony it could bring. At Frank Pick’s old school, St Peter’s in York, there is a memorial to him which reads:

“In tribute to Frank Pick 1878 – 1941 a scholar of this school. He served his fellow-men, made transport an art and sought beauty and good design in all things.”

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023