I have always felt some affection for launderette shopfronts, but I was not sure why until I read something that Paul Rand said,

“Simplicity is not the goal. It is the by-product of a good idea and modest expectations”.

I cant imagine the designer of the launderette sign (or launderette owner or signmaker) achieving this beautiful simplicity inspired by Swiss modernism of the twenties and thirties or the logos of Saul Bass or Paul Rand from the sixties and seventies, but I can imagine the designer saying, “ I called it a launderette because that’s what it is, and I used big letters and bright colours so people would see it”. This is one of many examples of how design without designers can be effective in a way that Paul Rand might appreciate. This can be seen in other creative disciplines as well, see “Architecture Without Architects, A Short Introduction to Non-Pedigreed Architecture” by Bernard Rudofsky.

These launderettes feel personal, their strange names (Go Gay, Round Trip, Washeteria, Coin-Op launderette cleanerette) and diverse colour palettes were probably chosen for no other reason than because the owner liked them. The one element that is seen in the windows of many launderettes is the blue and white window vinyl advertising “Service washes, Your washing! No fuss, just leave it with us”. This is a comforting reminder that there might actually be a person in the launderette. I imagine her (definitely a her) to look exactly like Pauline from Eastenders, wearing that long blue and white style laboratory coat, because laundry requires that “clean room” feel.

These aren’t the launderettes of the Levi’s 501 advert, overflowing with sexual tension, or those found in romantic comedies where future lovers argue over the last available dryer. These are ignored and neglected places. Now that most people own a domestic washing machine (Washing machine ownership has risen from 75% in 1977 to 95% in 2006. Waterwise report), the launderette is a shrinking market; No market consolidation in the launderette trade, no costly rebranding. This means that launderettes look a bit dated, and tatty, and charming. These weren’t made to look like they were from a bygone era, but they are actually from that bygone era. For this reason I would say that these fast vanishing shopfronts can be called classics rather than the unfortunate description, “retro”.

The first launderette as we would imagine it (coin operated by the public) opened in Queensway, London on the 9th of May 1949. So in the launderette, we have a piece of high street design history from the 1950s to sometime in the 1980s (when the last new launderette built in the UK?) preserved for us to enjoy.

Like the video shop, and soon the Post Office, our high streets will soon no longer have the launderette, but for those who might enjoy seeing them as much as I do here are some of my favourites from here in London.

You can click on the images to see them a bit bigger and in a slide show.