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Thursday, September 06, 2012

Vintage film explains how to use automatic ticket machines

What links elevator music, a dozen or more fonts, garish colours and dubious fashions? Why, an information film from London Transport in 1969 explaining how to use its newly designed automatic ticket machines.

The British Film Institute has just released the archive film, which must have taxed the film makers in terms of coming up with as many possible different fonts and colours that could use for writing text on a screen as possible.

In fact, considering London Underground's slightly obsessive attitude to fonts on its signs, it's surprising the film was even allowed to be so adventurous in this regard.

The department store style elevator music seems curiously calming - or maybe that is just me.
The film is part of a 2-disc BFI DVD 'British Transport Films Collection Vol. 10 - London on the Move', which will be released later this month.


A curiosity is that whereas today we have wide gates for people carrying luggage, the original design had airport style luggage chutes to slide bags through instead. I wonder what they did with prams?






; Posted by IanVisits Thursday, September 06, 2012 Permalink COMMENT HERE
http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2012/09/vintage-film-explains-how-to-use.html
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