London Underground has a long tradition of commissioning memorable advertising posters.

London Transport Museum is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Underground with an exhibition featuring 150 of the best posters produced for the Underground. These have been chosen by a team of experts drawn from a variety of backgrounds including Art on the Underground, Christies and Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design, to name a few. A film introducing the panel and their choices can be seen in the exhibition.

The posters were chosen from over 3,000 posters in the collection, which represent some of the best graphic art of the last 150 years and will be the most comprehensive poster exhibition the Museum has ever staged.

The public will be able to vote for their favourites by voting in the gallery or online in the Siemens Poster Vote and the winning poster will be announced at the end of the exhibition.

Finding your way Posters offer a powerful way to inform and instruct on way-finding and etiquette. Well-designed maps and diagrams simplify the daunting maze of lines and tunnels, enabling passengers to confidently navigate underground. Subtle humour creates commanding yet entertaining posters, promoting safe and cooperative behaviour.

Brightest London. These posters look beyond the daily commute to capture the glamour, excitement and sense of opportunity within this dynamic city. By day, leisure activities from sports to shopping are accessible. By night, passengers are enticed to central London’s cinemas and theatres. The Underground and its customers are portrayed as contemporary and ‘in the know’. The city becomes bigger and brighter and today more people than ever discover London by Tube.

Capital culture. Let the Underground bring the world to you! Before the rise of global media, the museums and the great exhibition halls showcased the world in one city. These posters promote travel to London’s cultural gems. Art shows and air displays sit alongside London Zoo and places of history and grandeur. Powerful imagery and bold colours paint London as a place to inspire both awe and enjoyment. Your Travelcard is your passport to the wonders of the world, made easily accessible by Underground.

Away from it all. Freedom is closer than you think. Romantic, colourful and optimistic, these posters remind Londoners how easy it is to get away from urban grime into London’s green spaces and nearby countryside. Idyllic settings are just a train journey away. The drive to boost off-peak ticket sales inspired the promotion of the Underground as a means of escape as well as a way of getting from A to B and offers the best of both worlds.

Keeps London going. These posters present visions of speed, strength and reliability. The image of the Underground is reinforced as a dynamic and popular service. The Underground’s strong visual identity and powerful branding is largely a result of the culture of good design and ‘fitness for purpose’ established by Frank Pick and continued today through the Tube Upgrade Plan.

Love your city. Underground posters describe London in all its colour, culture and diversity. People, places, events and landmarks new and old are presented in dramatic fashion. They depict an everchanging city that also takes pride in its history and heritage. From maps with a medieval
influence to visions of the future, the posters adopt different techniques to celebrate the soul of the city.

London Transport Museum
Covent Garden Piazza
London, WC2E 7BB United Kingdom
Ph. +44 (0)20 75657299
www.ltmuseum.co.uk

Opening hours
Saturday to Thursday 10am to 6pm
Friday 11am to 6pm

Admission
£15.00 Adult
£11.50 Concessions
Children under 17 years free