Margaret Calvert: Woman at Work

Last updated: 3 October 2026

What Woman at Work covers

The book follows the three stages of Calvert's working life. It starts with her childhood in South Africa and her move to England as a teenager in 1950. Then it covers the signage years with Kinneir, and finally her teaching at the Royal College of Art.

The signage section is the reason most people will pick it up. Kinneir and Calvert started with the motorway signs. Then they designed a matching system for every road in the country. Their Transport typeface and the pictograms that go with it are still on British roads today. According to Thames & Hudson, the book includes rare material from her archive and close-up detail of her typefaces.

Who Margaret Calvert is

Calvert was born in South Africa in 1936. She studied illustration and printmaking at Chelsea College of Art, where Kinneir was a visiting tutor. He asked her to help with the signs for Gatwick Airport. In 1966 the pair formed Kinneir Calvert and Associates. Their later clients included the British Airports Authority and British Rail.

She taught part time at the Royal College of Art from 1966 to 2001 and ran its graphic design department for four years. In 2024 she received the Type Directors Club Medal from the New York organisation of the same name.

Who else worked on it

Adrian Shaughnessy edited the book. He is a senior tutor at the Royal College of Art and has written monographs on Herb Lubalin and Ken Garland. John L. Walters, the editor of Eye magazine, wrote the introduction. The illustrator Marion Deuchars, a former student of Calvert's, contributed an essay. Henrik Kubel of A2/SW/HK, another former student, co-designed the layouts with Calvert.

What the reviews said

The Guardian called it "visually refined, insightful and wryly humorous". Literary Review said it would make readers appreciate the public design they are lucky to live with. Both quotes are on the Thames & Hudson page for the book.

Key facts

• Authors: Margaret Calvert, Adrian Shaughnessy, John L. Walters and Marion Deuchars
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Published: 12 February 2026
• Format: hardback with printed covers and no dust jacket, 256 pages, 207 illustrations
• Size: 28.5 x 21cm, close to a sheet of A4, and about 1.5kg
• ISBN: 9780500030448
• Price: £60 from the publisher, £42.29 on Amazon UK (five left in stock) and £57 on Bookshop.org, all checked on 3 October 2026

Who it suits

• Graphic designers and type fans: the book shows how Transport and the road sign pictograms were drawn.
• Design students: Calvert taught at the Royal College of Art for 35 years, and the teaching section covers that work.
• Drivers who like knowing how things work: anyone who has used a British motorway has read her lettering.
• Gift buyers: it suits a designer friend, or someone who already owns the NASA Graphics Standards Manual and wants a British equivalent.

The limits

At £60 it is an expensive book. Amazon is the cheapest of the three by more than £14. Amazon only had five copies left when we checked, so the price may change once those go. It is also a design monograph rather than a biography, so the space goes to pictures of the work. If you want her life story in depth, the essays give you an outline but not much more.

Where to buy Woman at Work in the UK

Amazon UK had the lowest price at £42.29. Bookshop.org charged £57 and shares its profit with independent bookshops. Thames & Hudson sells it at the full £60, with free UK delivery on orders over £40.

Woman at Work on Amazon UK

FAQs

What is Margaret Calvert: Woman at Work?

It is the first book dedicated to Margaret Calvert, the designer behind Britain's road signs with Jock Kinneir. It covers her early life, her signage and type design, and her teaching at the Royal College of Art.

Who designed Britain's road signs?

Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert designed the system in the late 1950s and 1960s, starting with the motorways and then the rest of the road network.

How much does Woman at Work cost in the UK?

The publisher's price is £60. On 3 October 2026 Amazon UK had it at £42.29 and Bookshop.org at £57.

How many pages is the book?

It has 256 pages and 207 illustrations, in a hardback measuring 28.5 x 21cm.

Who edited Woman at Work?

Adrian Shaughnessy edited it. John L. Walters wrote the introduction and Marion Deuchars wrote an essay.

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