Henry Beck, born in England, June 1902 (died 72) was a technical draughtsman who created the present London Underground Tube map in 1931. Beck drew up the maps in his spare time while working as an engineering draftsman at the London Underground Signals Office. London Underground was sceptical of Beck’s idea, an uncommissioned spare-time project, but tentatively introduced it to the public in a small pamphlet in 1933. It was immediately popular, and the Underground has used topological maps to illustrate the network ever since.
Before Beck’s work, there were maps for London Underground, but even though they were colour-coded, they were still confusing to the public. The lines overlapped frequently and station names were cramped between them. Overall, a flawed design.
Beck’s concept was a lot different, features did remain the same such as colour-coding and the inclusion of the river as to help the public. But even better was the simplification of the railway lines, following a strict rule of horizontal and vertical lines but also the occasional 45-degree angle lines. Station names were easier to read as well and were coloured to the corresponding railway.
Today’s map, created by many technical draughtsmen, remains similar to the original Harry Beck design. However, supporting more colour-coding, symbols and keys as the assists those who read it. They do still follow the strict rules Harry Beck once used to keep the map to as close to the original if not better.
Hollie Hurwood's Game Design course work 