Grassroots venues, and other creative uses of London’s iconic tube map
With its bold colours, elegant practicality, and utilitarian font use, the London Underground Map is an icon in its own right.
It’s unsurprising, then, that creatives draw inspiration from it.
The latest organisation to make use of the map is London Creates in partnership with Transport for London. They’ve essentially reimagined the design to celebrate the capital’s grassroots music scene. Launched by Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan, the ‘Grassroots Music Tube Map’ transforms familiar Underground lines into electric cables, each renamed after legendary songs, albums, artists, record labels, and venues.
The map pays homage to the 179 grassroots venues across the city that have nurtured the early careers of artists like Charli XCX, Coldplay, Chappell Roan, and Noah Kahan. “This special edition Tube map is a great way to highlight the huge impact the scene has on our capital,” said Mayor Khan. “Our venues are an essential part of our life at night and provide a huge boost to our economy”.
According to City Hall, London’s grassroots venues welcomed over 4.2 million visitors last year, hosted performances by more than 328,000 artists, and contributed £313m to the local economy. The initiative aims to spotlight these cultural powerhouses at a time when many face existential threats from rising costs and redevelopment pressures.
Artists such as Skin from Skunk Anansie and Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden have voiced their support.
Tube map image credit: Transport for London
Mapping the adscape
Several prominent brands have indulged in tributes to London’s Underground map. Samsung reimagined it in a circular design to promote its latest Circle to Search with Google feature on Samsung’s Galaxy S24.
The map showing 11 London Underground lines was on display on five Circle line platforms. The campaign was activated by media agency Starcom and creative marketing agency Iris, and booked via Global, the Media and Entertainment Group.
Image credit: Samsung
TfL isn’t averse to the odd cheeky collab too.
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC)’s ‘Shakespeare Tube Map’ (2014) was one such venture. The RSC renamed Tube stations after Shakespearean characters and plays as part of a broader push to promote Shakespeare’s work during a London season.
Nike has also integrated the London Underground Map into its creative.
Created by Mapping London, the “walking tube map” was produced for Nike, in conjunction with their FuelBand personal movement tracker.
And finally...
Tay Tay herself was lauded with a TfL map documenting her prolific career to mark her historic Eras Tour concerts last year.
Check out Taylor Swift’s ‘Tube Map Taylor’s Version’ below.
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