Margaret Calvert

2024 TDC Medalist

Graphic Designer & Typographer

Margaret Calvert is a British designer, best known for her work in the field of typography and graphic design. She gained significant recognition for her contributions to the design of road signs in the United Kingdom during the 1960s.

Career

Margaret Calvert OBE RDI, is best known for her work with Jock Kinneir on the design of Britain’s road signing system, starting with the motorways in the late 50s and coming into effect with the all purpose roads in 1965.

Born in 1936, in South Africa, she moved to England with her mother and sister, at the age of 13, to finish her education. After attending St Paul’s in London, she went on to Chelsea College of Art, specialising in Illustration and Printmaking. At the end of her course, she was invited to join Jock Kinneir, a visiting tutor, to assist him designing signs for Gatwick Airport.

Much of her work has been in partnership with Kinneir, for clients such as the British Airports Authority and British Rail, in the 60s and 70s, followed by signage for the Tyne and Wear Metro in 1980, where she used her own lettering, now marketed as ‘Calvert’ by Monotype. Her long association with the Royal College of Art, where she taught part-time from 1966 and was Head of Graphic Design from 1987 to 1991, came to an end in 2001. Her many awards include an Honorary Doctorate from the Royal College of Art and the Misha Black medal for Distinguished Services to Design Education.

In 2021, London’s Design Museum held an exhibition of her work featuring Rail Alphabet 2, designed specifically for Network Rail, in collaboration with Henrik Kubel. They were one of several winners of NYC’s 24th Annual Type Directors Club Typeface Design Competition. Examples of Britain’s road signs are in MoMa’s permanent collection. Margaret lives and works in London.