A cartoon-type character is being used by Tyne and Wear Metro to let commuters know when important modernisation works are taking place.

Metro Ken was unveiled on Tuesday 12 February and he will be seen on billboards and posters highlighting a variety of small and large scale developments as metro operator, Nexus, pushes ahead with the £600 million revamp of the 30-year-old system.

Metro Ken was the brainchild of the design team at the Newcastle-based Gardiner Richardson creative services agency, who were commissioned to devise the ‘All Change’  livery for the project  information campaign.

There are ten different Metro Ken cartoons in the series. Each individual image has been tailored for Nexus, depending on the scale and type of development at a particular location on the Metro system.

“It is vital now that more and more developments are taking place that a familiar logo, like Metro Ken, is on clear display and is one that passengers can easily recognise,” says Nexus.

The cartoon-type character can already be seen at Central, Felling and Sunderland Metro stations, where there are development projects already taking place.

“As we press ahead with our £600 million plans to reinvigorate the network it’s vital that we keep passengers informed about works that are taking place and any disruptions to the service,” said Ken Mackay, director of rail and infrastructure at Nexus.

“Metro Ken and our All Change campaign logos are going to help us to achieve that.”

Back to News