It seems ironic, if not mildly amusing, that one of the most urban of signifiers of all – the famous London Underground typeface – was dreamt up in a small Sussex village. And yet it was. That same lettering is celebrating its 100 anniversary this year, so in tribute, the Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft is putting on a show.
'Underground: 100 years of Edward Johnston’s Lettering from London' tells the tale of calligrapher Edward Johnson and traces the evolution of his sans serif alphabet, now known as Johnston Sans, through a series of working drawings and early prototypes.
Commissioned in 1913 by Frank Pick, the commercial manager for the London Underground Railway, the typeface aimed for nothing more than consistency and clarity. ‘The bold simplicity of the authentic lettering of the finest periods and yet belonging unmistakably to the 20th century,’ as Pick put it.
At the time, disparate companies and identities made up the tube network and Edwardian London was plastered with competing commercial slogans in increasingly elaborate scripts. Ever the purist, Johnston went back to his calligraphy roots and simplified the Roman letters down to their very essence, distilling along the way a visual identity that endures today. (The font was only updated once, and ever so slightly, in 1979.)
The exhibition looks at Johnston's work and his role in the Arts and Crafts movements which was, at the time, in full swing in the Sussex countryside. The relationship between Johnston and Eric Gill, a friend and former student of Johnston’s, comes under scrutiny too. Gill Sans – another popular sans serif font – was inspired by Johnston Sans, after all. But it is the enduring character of Johnston Sans that steals the spotlight.
Johnston’s design for an alphabet, 1916. Courtesy Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The exhibition traces the evolution of Johnston’s sans serif alphabet through a series of working drawings and early prototypes
Edward Johnston at his desk. Courtesy Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft
Pictured left: ’Defacing Posters’ notice. Courtesy Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Pictured right: the now iconic ’Bulls Eye’. Courtesy Crafts Study Centre
Johnston Sans aimed for nothing more than consistency and clarity – ‘the bold simplicity of the authentic lettering of the finest periods and yet belonging unmistakably to the 20th century,’ as Pick put it
’Way Out’ sign at Brompton Road, 1916. Courtesy Victoria and Albert Museum, London
The Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft was redeveloped in 2013 and was an ArtFund Museum of the Year finalist in 2014. Photography: Brotherton and Lock
INFORMATION
'Underground: 100 years of Edward Johnston’s Lettering for London' is on view until 11 September. For more information, visit the Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft's website
ADDRESS
Ditchling Museum of Art + Craft
Lodge Hill Lane
Ditchling
Hassocks
BN6 8SP
-
Out of office: what the Wallpaper editors have been doing this weekA week of jetsetting has seen the editors in Tokyo, Milan, Vienna, Miami, New York and drinking Guinness with Jonathan Anderson in London
-
The Living Places experiment: how can architecture foster future wellbeing?Research initiative Living Places Copenhagen tests ideas around internal comfort and sustainable architecture standards to push the envelope on how contemporary homes and cities can be designed with wellness at their heart
-
Turin’s Museo Egizio gets an OMA makeover for its bicentenaryThe Gallery of the Kings at Turin’s Museo Egizio has been inaugurated after being remodelled by OMA, in collaboration with Andrea Tabocchini Architecture
-
Meet Kenia Almaraz Murillo, the artist rethinking weavingKenia Almaraz Murillo draws on the new and the traditional in her exhibition 'Andean Cosmovision' at London's Waddington Custot
-
Inside Jack Whitten’s contribution to American contemporary artAs Jack Whitten exhibition ‘Speedchaser’ opens at Hauser & Wirth, London, and before a major retrospective at MoMA opens next year, we explore the American artist's impact
-
Doc'n Roll Film Festival makes its loud return to the UKThe 11th edition of the Doc'n Roll Film Festival celebrates music, culture and cinema from around the world
-
Preview the Jameel Prize exhibition, coming to London's V&A, with a focus on moving image and digital mediaThe winner of the V&A and Art Jameel’s seventh international award for contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic tradition will be showcased alongside shortlisted artists
-
Genesis Belanger is seduced by the real and the fake in LondonSculptor Genesis Belanger’s solo show, ‘In the Right Conditions We Are Indistinguishable’, is open at Pace, London
-
Francis Bacon at the National Portrait Gallery is an emotional tour de force‘Francis Bacon: Human Presence’ at the National Portrait Gallery in London puts the spotlight on Bacon's portraiture
-
Frieze Sculpture takes over Regent’s ParkTwenty-two international artists turn the English gardens into a dream-like landscape and remind us of our inextricable connection to the natural world
-
Meet Oluwole Omofemi and Bayo Akande, the founders creating a new art communityOluwole Omofemi and Bayo Akande, are behind Piece Unique, an artist agency that guides and future-proofs emerging artists’ careers
