WIDN blog

Professional and non-professional designers are invited to take their position in the prestigious hierarchy of artists and designers who have all created designs for the Tube, including Man Ray, Edward McKnight-Kauffer, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Eric Ravilious, Marion Dorn, Norbert Dutton, Enid Marx and Paul Nash.

The design brief, which remains very much the same as it did in 1930, emphasises that the design’s colours should respond well to both natural and artificial light, with a pattern which takes account of wear and tear. The durable velveteen woven wool fabric called moquette uses a Jacquard weave and ensures comfort, temperature control and hold.

The pantone reference for the new moquette design is featured below. A maximum of three primary corporate identity pantone references can be used, which are shown from the inner wheel of the chart. Any secondary colours, shown in the outer wheel of the chart can be proposed if considered visually necessary.

The design will require applicants to take into consideration certain utilitarian elements, as required by public seating, such as being commercially viable, having a repeat pattern, and not being too small to cause “dazzle” or “strobe” visual effects. However entrants are also encouraged to challenge conventional ideas of traditional seating fabric designs where possible.

The competition deadline is 5pm Monday 14 September 2009. Participants must be 18 years or over. To download the brief and terms and conditions, please visit http://shop.tfl.gov.uk/moquette-competition.html.