そして僕が先学期したプレゼンテーション、
機能と外見の関係性について触れる際、引用した事例。
ご存知、電子回路の設計者でもあったハリーベックのデザインした
ロンドンのチューブマップ。機能的な美しさ。
ちなみに、簡単にプレゼンした内容を紹介すると、
美しさは機能に追従するという考え方を否定するもので、
「美しさ」という変数もまた機能のひとつとして捕らえた時に、
その機能がもつ価値の可変性という性質を
さまざまなデザインの歴史を追って紹介するというものでした。
TubeMapの歴史について日本語では、こちらのサイト(Un chemin de pierre m’a dit…)
わかりやすくまとめられておりますのでそちらをご覧ください。
現在、ロンドン交通局の駅名表示・標識などで使用されているフォント
” New Johnston “は河野 英一さんのデザインしたものだそうです。
 Beck’s maps
 > The first diagrammatic map of the Underground was
 > designed by Harry Beck in 1933.
 > Beck was an Underground employee who realised that,
 > because the railway ran mostly underground,
 > the physical locations of the stations were irrelevant to the traveller wanting
 > to know how to get to one station from another —
 > only the topology of the railway mattered.
 > This approach is similar to that of electrical circuit diagrams;
 > while these were not the inspiration for Beck’s diagram,
 > his colleagues pointed out the similarities
 > and he once produced a joke map with the stations replaced by electrical-
 > circuit symbols and names with terminology,
 > such as “bakelite” for “Bakerloo”.
 > In fact, Beck based his diagram on a similar mapping system
 > for underground sewage systems.[citation needed]
 > To this end, he devised a vastly simplified map,
 > consisting of stations, straight line segments connecting them,
 > and the Thames; lines ran only vertically, horizontally,
 > or at 45 degrees. To make the map clearer and to emphasise connections,
 > Beck differentiated between ordinary stations (marked with tick marks)
 > and interchanges (marked with diamonds).
 > The Underground was initially sceptical of his proposal —
 > it was an uncommissioned spare-time project,
 > and it tentatively introduced it to the public in a small pamphlet.
 > It was immediately popular, and ever since the Underground
 > has used topological maps to illustrate the network.
  
参考:
Un chemin de pierre m’a dit…:2007年04月 [Link]
Harry Beck (graphic designer) [Link]
Tube map – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Link]
Harry Beck’s “Design Classic” of the London Underground Map [Link]
Design classics | Transport for London [Link]
The London Underground Map — Harry Beck’s Design Icon [Link]
タモリ倶楽部 02年12月11日 開館! 地図ミュージアム [Link]