\u201cThe road signs stand as symbols of modern Britain. Famous throughout the world, they represent the gold standard for highway directional signs. They adhere to Margaret\u2019s observation that design is the \u2018fusion of logic, function and aesthetics\u2019,\u201d says Adrian. \u201cTheir exceptional clarity and legibility \u2013 even at speed \u2013 along with their colour coding and use of symbols and pictograms to aid safety, make them one of the most significant contributions graphic designers have made to British public life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Margaret\u2019s signage was designed to function at any time of day, utilising our natural understanding of colour theory \u2013 red for warnings and green for guidance and permission. In other photos from the book, exhibitions show cut-up signage, remixing the very concepts she created. Some signs here are seldom-seen, including pictograms of horse and cattle warning signs as well as multi-coloured speed limits and warnings against artificial intelligence. Created within European protocols for signage, Margaret made the best of triangles for warnings, circles for instructions and rectangles for information. It goes without saying that Margaret\u2019s work was about pure functionality rather than creating something fashionable \u2013 these signs show how aesthetics can be don\u2019t have to be plain to be utilitarian.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s more, Margaret designed transports and motorway typefaces, as well as signage for airports \u2013 and with Henrik Kubel she developed the Rail Alphabet 2 font, a lighter typographic voice than the signs from the 60s and more readable than the dark blue signs with reversed out type in the 2010s. Much of her work was created in the pre-digital era which Margaret designed laboriously by hand, using tools and techniques of the period. \u201cIt was me doing artwork on the table with a board and a T-square \u2013 and in the corner was the Grant enlarger, a machine for scaling type and images,\u201d says Margaret in the book.<\/p>\n