British Rail’s double-arrow
Launch poster for the British Rail corporate identity as seen in 1965
“In 1964 the Design Research Unit—Britain’s first multi-disciplinary design agency founded in 1943 by Misha Black, Milner Gray and Herbert Read—was commissioned to breathe new life into the nation’s neglected railway industry, the corporate image of which had remained largely unchanged after its nationalisation in 1948, a reflection of a largely disjointed and out-of-date transport system.
“The company name was shortened to British Rail and Gerry Barney of the Design Rearch Unit conceived the famous ‘double-arrow’, a remarkably robust and memorable icon that has far outlasted British Rail itself and continues to be used on traffic signs throughout the United Kingdom as the symbol for the national rail network and more specifically railway stations on that network.”
Quoted from Nick Job‘s fascinating website devoted to the double-arrow. Just look at the amount of detail in the manual section. Brilliant. Right down to the uniforms to be worn by the British Rail Catering Refreshment Room Staff.
Related:
D&AD 50: 1966, British Rail, on CR Blog
Another British classic, British Steel, on LDL
Via Iancu Barbărasă.
17 appreciated comments, click here to add one
Simon
Such an iconic, instantly recognisable logo.
Jan 4th, 2012
Blair Thomson
L.O.V.E. it!
Jan 4th, 2012
Andy
Always loved this logo – generally – but what always bugged me about it was that the lines forming the middle diagonal are parallel, but the ones for the outer diagonals aren’t, and are more fluted – which for me means each arrow (ie the full form pointing right, and the one pointing left) isn’t symmetrical.
Or is it just me?
Jan 4th, 2012
Andy
Ah no – it’s me – i just noticed, they’re not parallel in the middle after all.
As you were…
Jan 4th, 2012
Troy
Thanks Andy, you just ruined this logo for me. All these years, I thought I liked it.
Jan 4th, 2012
Giles
A lovely strong identity. The fluted diagonals work beautifully to compensate for the visual weight and unbalance that would otherwise be caused.
Jan 5th, 2012
Sam Van Eman
“British Rail” in the blue-grey box looks elevated. Is that to suggest it’s riding on tracks? If so, I think it’s clever.
Jan 5th, 2012
Wendy Borg
This logo reminds me a lot of the Dutch NS railways logo :)
Jan 5th, 2012
Pseudonym
I think it was the 1970s when the logo was referred to as the “arrows of indecision” by critics of British Rail.
Jan 6th, 2012
John
Chauvinistic as I am, I’d like to point you all to the Dutch Railways logo.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Logo_NS.svg
Truth be told, it was introduced three years after the BR-logo.
Jan 6th, 2012
Angela Kelly
Once while waiting for a train at Kings Cross,I spotted a BR railroad worker sporting a Brit Rail logo pin on his lapel. After I admired it, he gave it to me; I still have after 30 years!
Jan 6th, 2012
Mark M.
Such a classic!
Jan 9th, 2012
Jassim
Cant help noticing the similarity with the swiss rail (SBB) logo…. http://www.robin-hoffmann.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/sbb.gif
Jan 9th, 2012
KevinN
They had to use Helvetica? Ugh, next.
Jan 10th, 2012
Izzy
Gerry Barney is my granddad. He might be a great designer but he sure is a dick-head. I haven’t seen him since I was seven.
Jan 12th, 2012
BernardT
It’s Rail Alphabet, not quite the same as Helvetica, but similar. Developed from the Transport typeface by Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert.
Feb 14th, 2012
Rich
Yeah gosh, what was a transport system thinking using a clear, legible and instantly recognizable typeface?
Apr 23rd, 2013
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