History of the roundel
History of the roundel - page 4
Victoria line
A London Transport Design Panel was established in 1963 to coordinate in-house design of the Victoria line. The panel included Harold Hutchison and design consultant Misha Black of the Design Research Unit (DRU). By the early 1970s the DRU was employed to review the whole corporate identity of London Transport, including the design and use of logo and typeface.
Backlit roundel on Victoria line platform, c1970.
Reference number: 2002/905
EnlargeRoundels for vehicles
From the mid 1930s a special version of the roundel appeared on the front and back of all trolleybuses. It was not used as the main symbol on buses until the mid 1960s. From the 1970s a plain white roundel was used on all London bus sides.
Plain white roundel on the side of FRM1 bus, c1973.
Reference number: 2002/3822
EnlargeFrom the 1970s a plain colour version of the roundel, with no text, was applied to new Underground trains. This can be seen here on a 1972 stock. The standard London Underground train livery since the 1990s has included the red and blue LU roundel with white Underground lettering on carriage sides.
1972 Mark II tube stock with a plain red roundel.
Reference number: 2002/944
EnlargeLondon Regional Transport
London Regional Transport (LRT) was established in 1984. A new corporate logo was designed to distinguish LRT from its operating companies, London Buses and London Underground. However, the logo was short-lived and never achieved the impact of the roundel.
London Regional Transport corporate logo, 1985.
Reference number: 1998/108571
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