The Johnston Typeface
Did you know we have our own typeface? Even if you didn't 'know', you'll recognise it. It's one of the icons of London design....
Edward Johnston
Born in 1872 in Uruguay, Johnston's pursuit of the truth and perfection in all things led him to form an unbreakable belief about the making of letter shapes
Johnston Typeface Artwork at Farringdon Station (2019-06-24) by Transport for LondonTfL Corporate Archives
The Johnston Typeface
Johnston's most famous letterform is one that's had a huge impact on type design and remains, since its emergence in 1916, the exclusive property of TfL. It's the ‘Underground Railway Block-Letter’, more commonly known as the Johnston typeface
In 1913, Johnston was commissioned to develop a set of block letters to be used as standard by the company. The 1st finalised set of upper case letters, Johnston Sans, were delivered in June 1916. A set of lower case letters and numerals were delivered in July 1916. Johnston was a calligrapher, not a type-cutter, so he drew the entire alphabet from hand.
In June 1917 one of the Underground’s printers ran off a complete set of the typeface and from that point posters, notices and ephemera began to appear in the new face. The effect was to give a much more unified and professional look to material
Once the typeface letters had been delivered, attention had turned to utilising the lettering in a ‘logo’ format, based on the bar and disc logo that had already evolved.
Drawing showing the standard layout of the 'Registered Design' version of the Johnston Underground bullseye (roundel) (1925) by Edward Johnston and London Electric RailwayLondon Transport Museum
The foundation for every roundel that we see today
In March 1917, Johnston finished preparing a drawing which included a black outline around the red roundel ring, a black keyline around the centre bar, the Underground word written in the centre bar in the Johnston typeface, and a reduced ring width
In 1979, typographic design consultants were commissioned to review the visual identity of the company. They reported that the Johnston typeface had too limited a range of fonts and character sizes, that the characters were set too widely, and that the largely hand-set nature of it required costly and disappearing skills.
But the value of the typeface and its place in the public’s consciousness was recognised, with the report emphasising how the lettering acted as a central thread for the whole organisation.
New Johnston
Amending and updating the typeface became the approach, and New Johnston was developed between 1979 and 1983 by Eiichi Kono
In 2016, Monotype Type was commissioned to review the typeface again. The result - Johnston100 - contains subtle changes to make it fit for purpose in the 21st century. This includes symbols, such as # and @, which are now widely used in the digital communications age.
The Johnston typeface continues to be a design icon of London, as evidenced by the brands TfL collaborates with to celebrate its history and its present.
Both Royal Mail and the Royal Mint issued celebratory stamps and coins, respectively, to celebrate London Underground's 150th anniversary. Core to the design was the inclusion of Johnston typeface
In 2016, a limited edition Scrabble set was launched. The set included pieces featuring the Johnston font and came in a wooden box transcribed in the same distinctive lettering
In 2015, Fender unveiled unique guitars based on the Beck tube map and featuring the Johnston font. The special edition featured an engraved neck plate, TfL logo on the back of the headstock, three single coil pickups and a maple neck alongside the Tube map design
In 2016, a partnership with Nike revived the cult classic Air Zoom Spiridon trainer. The new edition was designed using the Johnston typeface and came in boxes displaying the famous lettering
Story compiled by TfL using information in records at the Transport for London Corporate Archives. The Corporate Archives seeks to preserve and make accessible records, not to interpret them. A wider range of material is available for physical consultation.
Permission is granted to reproduce for personal and educational use only.
This story has been enhanced using images from the collections of the London Transport Museum. All enquiries regarding those images should be made directly to that institution.
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