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This isn't our first time taking a look at interesting subway posters, or even English railway posters, but a new book of posters and printed matter from the history of London's Tube offers a slightly different perspective than we're used to. The book, A Logo For London, collects Tube imagery from the last 150 years and examines how the circular strike-through logo evolved. Compiled by David Lawrence, the book isn't limited to formally produced posters, but instead includes photographs, pamphlets, and anything else that informed the bar and circle logo. Check out a few images below. [images via DesignTaxi]







Ace Hotel and Ace Atelier have already shaken up the boutique hotel biz in the States with a quirky, vintage-inspired aesthetic that favors local flavor and unique character over the facade of luxury or predictable uniformity. This month, Ace Hotel London Shoreditch opens. Ace's first venture outside the U.S. will establish the name in a prime hub of creative London—and likely, we're guessing, be a stepping stone to a wider presence in Europe. But the Ace won't be a case of porting Portland to the East End. Rather, the Ace Hotel Shoreditch will be built on collabs with London locals. Here's what we know thus far.

• Local florist Hattie Fox will open a flower shop at the hotel.

tokyobike will produce a small fleet of bikes for guests to use in exploring the neighborhood.

• David Waddington and Pablo Flack of Bistrotheque will collab on the restaurant, restaurant bar and Lovage juice bar.

• Square Mile Coffee Roasters will open a lobby cafe and supply the coffee beans.

• Ace Hotel says the design for the exterior and interior will involve "local makers using traditional UK craftsmanship in a contemporary expression." Design firms Universal Design Studio, Crittall, Winchmore, Benchmark, Brockway, and Max Lamb, amongst others will create for the Shoreditch space.

• Room products will include Farmers' for Ace Hotel bath products, Rega turntables, custom Revo radios in all rooms, and a custom change tray by Ally Capellino.

• Designers John Smedley, Hancock, Assembil, Mr. Start and Gloverall designed the staff uniforms, but we've yet to see them ourselves.

Ace Hotel Shoreditch soft opens September 9 and accepts reservations for that date and beyond.

 

To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the London Underground, Penguin UK has published a series of paperbacks related to various stops on the venerable Tube. While we're considering taking home a stack on our next trip to the Big Smoke, there's one in particular that caught our eye right away. Fantastic Man's Buttoned-Up delves into the question of why East London men tend to button their shirts all the way up. It features Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys and other notorious buttoners from the East End pondering the question.

Buttoned-Up is available via Penguin in the UK.

If you're not a fan of Fantastic Man yet, you should take a stroll around the fashion mag's site and check-out its recommendations.

Some of us like a contrast between urban grit and city chic, some well-worn infrastructure with our tony brownstones. We like seeing the logo of the local metropolitan transit authority on strange buildings tucked away between alleys and elevated trains. Then there are those of us more sensitive to preserving the "charm" of upscale city hoods or maintaining their historic aesthetic. It seems the transport authorities fall into the latter category in several instances, at least in the case of the fake townhouses exposed in New York, London, and Paris on messynessychic.com today, one of which is even cited in an Umberto Eco novel. All three were devised to hide air shafts for underground trains.

Know of any other fake townhouses? We'd like to hear from you.

David Bowie is having quite a good 2013. And having recently discovered his scene in the 1981 German junkie film Christiane F. we're as obsessed as ever. We’re not alone. British designer Blam (AKA Mark Blamire) takes that OCD admiration to epic proportions with the "Changing Faces of Bowie Print" (2013). An array of 101 type styles, logos and symbols inspired by the former David Jones screen-printed onto 240gsm Mirri rainbow holographic paper, this 500x500 limited release print showcases the work of some very reputable artists, designers, and publications who are just as clearly enamoured of the legendary rocker. Pentagram, Stockholm Design Lab, Crispin Finn, Monocle, and Wallpaper are among the contributors. The print has been created exclusively for the David Bowie Is exhibition at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum which opens March 23. 

"The Changing Faces of Bowie Print" is available for pre-order for £45 at vandashop.com.