The Tube Map nearly looked very different
Map MenCited 5× on HN, 2022–2025
explainer · general · evergreen · 2022–2025 on HN
Map Men's Jay Foreman tells the story of how the London Tube map nearly looked very different, including Harry Beck's design and TfL's initial rejection of it. A short, witty history of a design icon.
Linked in threads on the Tube map and transit map design history.
Up next
14 mo on HNA Better Default Colormap for Matplotlib | SciPy 2015 | Nathaniel Smith and Stéfan van der Walt
Enthought
15 HN recommender · 2015–2026
12 mo on HNHans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats - BBC
BBC
10 HN recommender · 2010–2023
11 mo on HNDON'T PANIC — Hans Rosling showing the facts about population
Gapminder Foundation
8 HN recommender · 2017–2021
8 mo on HNWealth Inequality in America
politizane
8 HN recommender · 2013–2025
7 mo on HNAnimations of unseeable biology | Drew Berry | TED
TED
7 HN recommender · 2017–2025
7 mo on HNImmigration, World Poverty and Gumballs
NumbersUSA
7 HN recommender · 2013–2024
6 mo on HNHow not to be ignorant about the world | Hans and Ola Rosling
TED
5 HN recommender · 2015–2023
5 mo on HNThe best stats you've ever seen | Hans Rosling
TED
5 HN recommender · 2013–2026
5 mo on HN4 2 1 Christopher Domas The future of RE Dynamic Binary Visualization
Adrian Crenshaw
7 HN recommender · 2013–2026
5 mo on HNSimulating an epidemic
3Blue1Brown
8 HN recommender · 2020–2023
5 mo on HNStar Size Comparison 2
morn1415
5 HN recommender · 2016–2022
4 mo on HNAnimated Voting Methods
Unify The Vote
3 HN recommender · 2018–2022
5 comments from Hacker News
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
> 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
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.
At least they credited Harry Beck this time... Jay Foreman's channel covered the history of the iconic Tube map: ▶ this 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.