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Sep 17, 2013 · The signing of subway stations like London’s Covent Garden used this bar and disc with the signature color scheme of red and blue in 1908.
- Kristin Hohenadel
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- Kristin Hohenadel
The roundel first appeared on Underground station platforms in 1908. The bar and circle, as it became known, comprised a solid red enamel disc and horizontal blue bar. These early roundels, framed with timber mouldings, were introduced as station nameboards.
- 1908
- 1911/1912
- 1914
- 1916/1917
- 1920s and 30s
- 1947
- 1970s & 1980s
- 1990s to Present
The very first roundel starts life as a platform nameboard at the station we now call St James's Park. Originally known as the bar and circle, the red, glassy, enamel disc with the blue horizontal bar is created to make station names stand out against the adverts and billboards on platform walls.
The new logo begins to appear on map covers, station exteriors, posters and other publicity. There aren't any guidelines at this point so artists use the bar and circle freely and imaginatively in their work. The letters U and D also begin to appear across the bar of the roundel but in 1912, but further changes are made when the London General Omni...
To establish their independence, Metropolitan Railway introduce an alternative version of the roundel. It has a blue, station name plate mounted on a red diamond. It is used for promotional material, timetables and buildings and can still be seen on the 1923 facade at Farringdon station.
The new typeface is put on the bar and circle and is registered as a trademark in 1917. Between 1920 and 1933, Johnston designs several different versions of the bar and circle symbol for the different divisions of the Underground Group in an attempt to create a unified identity for both rail and road services.
Frank Pick recruits the architect Charles Holden to design new Underground stations and reconstruct existing ones. In the 1930s, Holden begins to incorporate the logo into the very fabric of station interiors; including platform furniture and on bus stop flags and shelters.
London Transport is nationalised but the roundel stays as a logo. The post-war fashion for more minimal designs (which are cheaper to make and maintain), means that the logo is simplified, once again.
The roundel symbol begins to appear on the sides of buses and a plain colour version - with no text - is introduced on Underground trains. In 1972, the roundel is officially named as the corporate symbol of London Transport. As a result, the Design Research Unit is employed to review the design and use of logo and typeface. London Underground takes...
In 2000, after 10 years of LRT and its subsidiary companies looking after London transport, Transport for London (TfL), is created to take control of transport. TfL becomes responsible for the Underground, buses, London Rail, taxis, London River Services, Victoria Coach Station, Docklands Light Railway, Trams, Street Management and the London Trans...
Oct 4, 2013 · After a number of tests, a round red disc was placed beneath the signs’ blue bars. By 1912 or 1913, the circle evolved, with two white semi-circles placed inside the red disc.
Dec 19, 2022 · The first Underground signs were introduced in 1908, and featured a red circle with a blue bar and the word “Underground.” This design, known as the “roundel,” was based on the logo of the Underground Electric Railways Company of London (UERL), which operated the majority of the Underground lines at the time.
The UERL introduced station name boards with a red disc and a blue bar and the Met responded with station boards showing a blue bar on a red diamond. [65]
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When did London use a red & blue bar & disc?
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Who designed the London Underground roundel?
The origins are obscure, but it seems to be developed from the symbol of our predecessor company, the London General Omnibus Company (LGOC). The LGOC adopted the design of a wheel with wings as a...
