Margaret Calvert: Woman at Work
Published on 12. February 2026
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-0-500-03044-8 (ISBN)
Description
The first book dedicated to Margaret Calvert, pioneer of design for public service, a groundbreaking typographer and recipient of 2024's New York Type Directors Club Medal.
Margaret Calvert's design work on the signs of Britain's national road network, with Jock Kinneir, means that it is almost impossible to travel anywhere in the UK and not benefit from her skill as a designer. Her ultra-legible typeface and engaging pictograms have become an integral part of everyday British life, and they have set the benchmark for highway signage internationally.
Following a distinguished career as a graphic designer, Margaret Calvert became an influential educator at the Royal College of Art, where she taught a generation of designers, many of whom have achieved global recognition. Today, working in her home studio, she takes on projects that personally inspire her.
This monograph - the first dedicated to her work - captures the full arc of her career, encompassing the three distinct phases of her professional life and offering insight into her early years in South Africa and her formative experiences after moving to the UK as a teenager. Lavishly illustrated with rare glimpses into her archive and details of her legendary typefaces, it is designed by Margaret and A2/SW/HK, the studio co-founded by her frequent creative partner (and former student) Henrik Kubel and Scott Williams. The book is edited by Adrian Shaughnessy, with an introduction by Eye magazine editor, John L. Walters and an essay by Margaret's friend and former student Marion Deuchars.
Margaret Calvert's design work on the signs of Britain's national road network, with Jock Kinneir, means that it is almost impossible to travel anywhere in the UK and not benefit from her skill as a designer. Her ultra-legible typeface and engaging pictograms have become an integral part of everyday British life, and they have set the benchmark for highway signage internationally.
Following a distinguished career as a graphic designer, Margaret Calvert became an influential educator at the Royal College of Art, where she taught a generation of designers, many of whom have achieved global recognition. Today, working in her home studio, she takes on projects that personally inspire her.
This monograph - the first dedicated to her work - captures the full arc of her career, encompassing the three distinct phases of her professional life and offering insight into her early years in South Africa and her formative experiences after moving to the UK as a teenager. Lavishly illustrated with rare glimpses into her archive and details of her legendary typefaces, it is designed by Margaret and A2/SW/HK, the studio co-founded by her frequent creative partner (and former student) Henrik Kubel and Scott Williams. The book is edited by Adrian Shaughnessy, with an introduction by Eye magazine editor, John L. Walters and an essay by Margaret's friend and former student Marion Deuchars.
Reviews / Votes
'Margaret's work will live on forever through these historically significant signs and typefaces that populate every side of the street in the UK - but this book is essential to understanding every piece of detail and love that went into something that we may take for granted these days' - It's Nice That 'Visually refined, insightful and wryly humorous, it is quintessential Calvert' - Guardian 'This is a wonderful tribute. It will make you appreciate the public design we are lucky to live with, even if you only catch it in your peripheral vision as you speed past a blue-and-white sign pointing you in the right direction' - Literary ReviewMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Illustrations
207 Illustrations, color
Dimensions
Height: 292 mm
Width: 216 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
1525 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-500-03044-8 (9780500030448)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Margaret Calvert (OBE RDI) was born in South Africa in 1936. She moved to England with her mother and sister in 1950 and attended St Paul's school in London before studying illustration and printmaking at Chelsea College of Art. Invited by visiting tutor Jock Kinneir to assist him on the Gatwick Airport signs, Margaret worked with Kinneir on a range of projects during the late 1950s and 60s, including the design of the British road signing system which began with the motorways and concluded with a complementary system for the entire network. Kinneir Calvert and Associates was formed in 1966 and further clients of the studio included the British Airports Authority and British Rail. Margaret taught part-time at the Royal College of Art from 1966 to 2001 and also headed the graphic design department for four years during that time. She has an Honorary Doctorate from the RCA and is a recipient of the Misha Black medal for Distinguished Services to Design Education. This year Margaret was awarded the TDC Medal from the New York Type Directors Club.
Adrian Shaughnessy is a graphic designer, writer and senior tutor at the Royal College of Art, London. He has written numerous books, including a recently published compendium of his design journalism, Scratching the Surface, and monographs devoted to legendary designers Herb Lubalin and Ken Garland. He regularly contributes to design publications and blogs such as Design Observer, Eye, Creative Review and Design Week. In 1988, Shaughnessy co-founded design studio Intro; today he runs ShaughnessyWorks, a consultancy combining art direction, writing, editing and lecturing, and is a co-director of Unit Editions. He is a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale.
Adrian Shaughnessy is a graphic designer, writer and senior tutor at the Royal College of Art, London. He has written numerous books, including a recently published compendium of his design journalism, Scratching the Surface, and monographs devoted to legendary designers Herb Lubalin and Ken Garland. He regularly contributes to design publications and blogs such as Design Observer, Eye, Creative Review and Design Week. In 1988, Shaughnessy co-founded design studio Intro; today he runs ShaughnessyWorks, a consultancy combining art direction, writing, editing and lecturing, and is a co-director of Unit Editions. He is a member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale.