Scenes of graphic London_by Teal Triggs

The graphic design of London is as important to the city as its architecture, argues Teal Triggs

Teal Triggs is professor of graphic design, University of the Arts London

Think London graphic design, and what comes to mind? Maybe it is the Underground tube map designed by Harry Beck in 1931, which visually simplified a way of navigating the city’s complex underground transport network. Maybe it’s London Underground’s distinctive style of branding – the red roundel designed by Eric Johnston in 1913 emblazoned with its more recent proprietary typeface New Johnson designed by Colin Banks in 1980 – which itself has been an established image for merchandising products for every tourist stall in the city’s centre.