Margaret Calvert RDI OBE is best known for her groundbreaking work with Jock Kinneir on the design of Britain’s road and motorway signing system introduced in 1965. She was also Head of Graphics at the Royal College of Art in London where she encouraged the rigour to design that she believes in. Still today you'll find her in her North London studio working on her lifelong passion for letterforms. I had the great pleasure of recording this interview with Margaret in 2015 about her life and work. From the RDI sound archive.
Transport Minister Ernest Marples (centre) opening the first stretch of the M1 motorway in 1959.
Jock Kinneir overseeing the prototypes of the motorway signs.
Margaret's hand drawn version of Transport.
Margaret keeping James May in check on Top Gear
Margaret is a designer with very strong views, as James May discovered to his cost when he took Margaret for a little spin on Top Gear.
A rare Illustration piece from Margaret produced in 1963 for the opera, The Golden Warrior, Shott music publishers.
Identity for fishmongers Burkett and Rudman. The people passing by show just how startlingly modern it must have looked back in 1963.
Baggage labels for the P&O-Orient Line, 1962.
The typeface Calvert used for the Tyne and Wear Metro
Signage system for Heathrow Terminal 4, British Airport Authority, 1967.
Moscow sans
Moscow Metro pictograms
Above Margaret’s latest passion. Moscow sans being tested on prototype maps currently installed in Moscow Metro and soon to implemented along with the signage programme across all stations. See full design credit at the foot of page.
As you will hear in this interview, it was sometimes tricky to get a word in when Margaret was on a roll. And she told me that she hated being interviewed. Not a bit of it.
To hear the RDInsights interview, click here.
To see Margaret on Top Gear, click here.
To see New Transport alphabet
To see New Rail alphabet
Moscow Metro credit:
Moscow Sans. A custom font in four grades plus a set of 40+ unique pictograms created exclusively for Moscow Department of Transport. Art directed and designed by A2–TYPE, Scott Williams & Henrik Kubel with Margaret Calvert as type and pictogram consultant. Cyrillic script designed in collaboration with Ilya Ruderman. Commissioned by City ID and Moscow Department of Transport, DOT. Product design by Billings Jackson Design.