British empire exhibition

This poster was commissioned by the Underground in 1924. The brief was an illustrated map of the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley. Frank Pick approached Edward Bawden for the commission on the recommendation of Bawden's tutor at the Royal College of Art. Pick rejected Bawden's first proposal and brought in the more experienced designer, Thomas Derrick. Derrick handled the cartography and overall design, and Bawden was left to provide the illustrations. From a distance the poster was hard to read, but it was extremely popular with the public for its exquisite attention to detail.