The Tube Map nearly looked very different

Map Men
2 HN recommenders · recommended in 2 months, 2022–2025
YouTube
2.6M views · 4 years ago · explainer · evergreen

Map Men, with Jay Foreman, tell the story of the London Tube map and how it nearly looked very different. The video centers on Harry Beck's diagrammatic design and how it came to replace geographically accurate maps.

HN people recommend it as the great history of this style of transit map, and as the account of how Beck's design was not wanted by the operator at first.

“I, for one, am glad that Harry Beck designed the tube map that would become so influential all over the world.”
Wayfinding & signageMaps & cartography
#tubemap#harrybeck#mapmen#transitmaps#diagrams

8 comments from Hacker News

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@BHSPitMonkey2024 · in “Roman Roads (2017)”
Not that you asked, but here's a great video about the history of this style of map: ▶ this video
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@vanilla-almond2022 · in “The Tube Map nearly looked different [video]”
Submitted the video to Hacker News.
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@harry_beck2025 · in “Live London Underground / bus maps taken down by TfL trademark complaint”
It's a sad irony that TFL didn't even want this version of the map originally, and it was given to them, and maintained for free (I think) by a map enthusiast like the author of this version I think Harry Beck would think history was repeating itself ▶ this video
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@TonyTrapp2024 · in “London Tube map redesigned by Essex lecturer goes viral”
Ever after watching Jay Foreman's videos on Harry Beck's tube map (▶ this video and link), a reply from TfL like this one hits differently: > A TfL spokesperson said the original Tube map was "an iconic piece of world-renowned design" and there were no plans to change it.
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@andrybak2024 · in “London Tube map redesigned by Essex lecturer goes viral”
> I remember watching a design documentary years ago Was it Map Men? They mention not forcing the London tube map onto the geographical map. It has two parts: 1. "The Tube Map nearly looked very different" ▶ this video 2. "What went wrong with the Tube Map?" link
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@speps2023 · in “Engineering Icons Tube Map”
At least they credited Harry Beck this time... Jay Foreman's channel covered the history of the iconic Tube map: ▶ this video
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@tycho-newman2023 · in “The age of average”
> the growing homogeneity of spaces that starts at AirBnB and cafes and spreads Like I said, there's options when you look outside AirBnB. There is diversity in design if you look outside the haunts of the bourgeois classes. And look, some people want to struggle reading metro maps. I am not one of them. I, for one, am glad that Harry Beck designed the tube map that would become so influential all over the world. Praise be to Harry Beck! ▶ this video
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@supernova87a2022 · in “Electric ferry uses a long extension cord [video]”
You know, I've been interested to observe why some YouTubers succeed hugely and others just stay specialty channels. For example, Tom Scott assembles stories that you possibly could find elsewhere, but what is it that makes his videos special to have gotten so many views in the 10s of millions? Is it that his videos are relatively short and digestible in 5 min, and have some off-the-beaten path / uncommon / eye catchy subjects? Does he just make the right combination of detail and high level takeaway? Is it that he actually goes to the places to get live footage (versus those Youtube regurgitaters who explain a topic never having left their desk, with 200 ADD-style stock footage clips in a single video)? Is it that he frames each video with a larger more philosophical question? Is it because he has a friendly face? I watch a channel with some quirky British/London guys on weird things about the city (▶ this video link) but it has never taken off like Tom Scott (-- and this is amusing, despite Tom Scott having initially been the guy who designed their intro clip). Maybe it's just too local (no so-what for me) to feel like it's broadly interesting, or they don't lead out to the bigger theme so-what? Maybe there's just some confluence of x-factors that propel certain people to fame.
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