Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert

Whilst trying to find out more about Kinneir and Calvert I came across two useful items by Adam Greenfield and Dan Hill. I have read both of these articles before, but listening to part one of this Radio 4 programme has burned a few new connections into my neural pathways to link these three items.

Kinneir and Calvert's designs for British roads were not only practical, they exhibited a warmth and humanity lacking in signage in some other countries. The ‘Transport' sans serif font they designed has a ‘soft’ feel, their pictograms, such as the ‘children’ warning sign, were sensitively drawn. A lot of the original work is still in use today and, indeed, the Department of Transport was able to turn to original artwork and layout instructions when it digitised the signs a few years ago.

Most importantly, the work was done at a time when, in the words of author Robin Kinross, there was an ‘official will to modernise the public infrastructure,’ which led it to becoming a rare model of the role that design could play in public life. Although the Department is still using the basic design, it has a regrettable tendency to add unnecessary extra clutter (such as brown panels for tourist information).

The message for us today is how Kinneir started. He looked from the perspective of a driver, not a designer: ‘What do I want to know, trying to read a sign at speed?’ It's that clarity of thought which makes his work a remarkable contribution to modern design.

designer trading cards (card 6)