Blake the Bear — Making TfL travel friendlier
Meet the Blake Card.
Blake the Bear is a concept exploring how a friendly character could make contactless travel and Apple Pay easier to understand — especially for children and families. Combine creativity, technology and passenger education, and the everyday tap becomes something to smile about.
01 · The creator
The person behind the idea
Hi — I'm Warren. I'm 25 years old, I live in London, and Blake the Bear is my idea. This page, the card design, the sketches and the bear himself all started as one question I couldn't stop thinking about: why does the cleverest payment system in the world still feel like a hurdle at the gates?
I ride the Tube and the buses every day, and like millions of Londoners I tap through without thinking. But I started paying attention to the people who can't do that yet — a child reaching up to copy a parent's tap, a visitor turning their phone around looking for the reader, a family freezing at the barrier during rush hour. The technology works; the moment doesn't. That gap is where Blake was born.
I'm not a transport company or a design agency — I'm a 25-year-old Londoner with a sketchbook, a laptop and a character I believe in. Blake began as drawings of a big, warm bear in a red t-shirt, and grew into a full concept: the Wallet card you see at the top of this page, the advertising at the barriers, and a plan for how a friendly character could teach a whole generation how to travel.
What I'm asking for isn't a deal — it's a conversation. I'd love the chance to explore Blake the Bear with TfL's innovation and design teams, because the best ideas about London transport should be shaped by the people who actually use it.
- Age
- 25
- Home
- London
- Role
- Creator & designer of Blake the Bear
- The idea
- A friendly face for TfL contactless & Apple Pay
02 · Meet
Meet Blake the Bear
Blake is a big, warm, slightly shy bear who loves London. He wears his TfL | Apple Pay t-shirt everywhere, and his one big idea is simple: paying for your journey should feel like a high-five, not a hurdle.
The idea behind Blake came from watching people at the gates — children reaching up to follow a parent's tap, visitors hesitating at the yellow reader, families working it out together. Blake is the friendly guide for those moments: a character who shows everyone, young or new to London, exactly how easy tapping in can be.
03 · The problem
Tapping works — but it can feel cold
No friendly face
Contactless and Apple Pay are efficient, but the experience is anonymous — a beep, a barrier, and no encouragement for the people who find it hardest.
Confusing for first-timers
Children, tourists and nervous passengers often aren't sure which card to use, where to tap, or whether it worked — and nothing at the gate tells them.
Kids can't carry a card
Younger children rarely have their own payment card, so learning how fares, caps and readers work usually waits until they're older.
04 · The solution
A friend at the gates
Blake the Bear gives the payment experience a personality. His image appears on the card face in Apple Wallet, on advertising panels at the barriers, and in the materials that teach people how to travel — the same reliable contactless system underneath, wrapped in something warm.
For passengers that means the right thing to do is obvious before they reach the reader: see Blake, tap your phone, go. For TfL it means contactless education that children understand and families remember — friendlier, more accessible, and easier to explain than any instruction sign.
Easier
One clear story: wallet, tap, gate. Blake demonstrates it so passengers don't have to read anything.
Friendlier
A wave from Blake turns a cold beep into a small moment of delight on the way to work or school.
More accessible
Simple visuals and repetition help children, visitors and anyone less confident with payment technology.
05 · How it works
How passengers would use it
1
Double-click. Wallet opens on Blake.
2
Tap the yellow reader. Ding.
3
Gate opens. Fare capped automatically.
06 · Benefits to TfL
Who it helps
01
For children
Blake turns an adult-sized habit into something children recognise and want to copy — learning how to travel early, with a character they trust.
02
For families
A friendly face at the gates reduces hesitation and gate anxiety, helping parents and kids move through together with fewer hold-ups.
03
For passengers
Visitors and first-time users get a warmer, clearer sense of what to do — the same pay-as-you-go fares and caps, with a smile on top.
04
For TfL
A memorable, collectible brand moment that supports contactless education and makes the network feel more welcoming to every generation.
07 · Future possibilities
Where the concept could go
Innovation partnership
Developed with TfL as an exploration concept — piloted in advertising, education and station materials to test how passengers respond.
Smarter stations
Blake's presence at gates and ticket machines could grow into gentle, real-time guidance for anyone unsure how to tap.
Learning through play
Short animations and classroom materials that teach children how fares, caps and readers work — before their first solo journey.
Collectible designs
Seasonal Blake card faces in Apple Wallet, turning a payment method into something passengers are proud to carry.
08 · Why TfL?
Why TfL is the right partner
TfL didn't just adopt contactless payment — it invented the modern standard for it, then kept refining the passenger experience around it. A concept like Blake needs a partner that treats design, inclusion and innovation as core to how the network runs, and TfL is that partner.
The home of contactless
TfL pioneered contactless payment in public transport and still runs the world's largest contactless fare network. A concept built on making that payment story friendlier belongs with the team that invented it.
A design-led brand
The roundel is one of the most recognisable marks in the world, and TfL licenses its design heritage with real care. Blake's clean, roundel-friendly look was made to sit beside it — and to pass a licensing review.
A family audience every day
Millions of children and visitors travel on TfL every week. A character concept speaks directly to the passengers who find travel tech hardest, on the network they already use.
Fewer hesitations at the gates
Uncertainty at the reader slows boarding. A familiar character showing exactly what to do — on the card, at the barrier, on posters — smooths peak-time flow without new hardware.
Contactless education that lands
TfL already invests in helping people travel confidently. Blake gives that education a face: simple visuals and repetition that children remember and parents can point to.
Apple Pay fits the platform
Express Mode on iPhone and Apple Watch already lets passengers tap without unlocking. Blake gives that invisible convenience a visible, friendly identity — a card passengers are proud to add to Wallet.
The ask: an exploratory conversation with TfL's innovation and design teams about piloting Blake the Bear as a friendly face for contactless and Apple Pay — starting with station advertising and passenger education, and growing into the Wallet card itself.