Graphics - Key Designers

- He redesigned the London underground map in the 1930's

- His map isn't geograpically correct. The map is very different to real life...

   - The map only has straight lines, either horizontally, vertically or at 45 degree angles

   - The stations are shown to be more equally spaced out than they actually are

   - Each undergound line has a different colour, and the station is in the matching colour

- These features make it easy to use, and it is now very successful. Because of the success and ease of use, many other transport link maps have been redesigned to match Beck's style

- He took over the family business of designing kitchenware in the 1970's

- He didn't design any products himself, as he employed designers and architects to come up with fun and creative ideas which were then manufactured by his own company

- The key to his products was the aesthetics and how the product looked, and then the functionality, so even if the product didn't work properly, as long as it looked good it was manufactured

- A key part of his idea was to mass-produce products but to keep them as stylish and original as possible

- The designs were often colourful and always distinctive

- They were hired to design the new road signs when motorways were first opened in Great Britain

- Their signs had a simple map of the road layout ahead. They also developed a new font called 'Typeface', which used curvy letters that were much easier for drivers to read and understand than previous styles

- The signs were so easy to understand that their styles were adapted for all roads in the UK and by several other countries

- Kinnear and Calvert also developed the colour scheme for UK road signs, and they designed warning signs that used pictograms

- He developed a style of paper engineering (pop-up books/ kinetic spreads) by folding and cutting up paper to create models that unfold and move

- Many of his pop-up books have won awards

- Many other people have produced pop-up books in his style

-  He now owns a website that has templates of a few pop-up mechanisms that can be downloaded and printed for free

- He is a brand designer

- He saved P&O ferries from bankruptcy and has also worked wih BT, helping to develop their brands