Carrying on with the concept of a diamond symbol, I've thought about the divisions of London, separating the city into North, East, South, West and Central. Different areas of London offer different aspects of London life, for example, West London is famed for the West End and East London is known for its ethnic population and multicultural diversity. The city is also commonly divided into just the North and South, defined by each side of the River Thames.

Click image to enlarge and zoom.

Typefaces

Thursday night in London involved a A2/SW/HK talk at Pentagram's studio. They've recently worked with Margaret Calvert who, along with Jock Kinnear, has designed notorious typefaces and signage systems which can be seen across the length and breadth of the country, most notably Transport, Motorway & Rail Alphabet. They have made a significant contribution to England's existing identity as far as type and signage is concerned, including our airports, hospitals, railway stations and roads.

England has also provided us with a few other typographic treats, mainly sans-serifs, in the form of Clarendon, Perpetua, Times New Roman, Caslon and Baskerville.

And Phil Baines has the right idea, with his collection of London type...
...'before Edward Johnston ruined the party.'

The Diamond

After a visit to London, it's hard to ignore the presence of Gill Sans and Johnston throughout the capital city. Johnston dominates the Underground system while Gill Sans(a.k.a. 'Britain's Helvetica') seems to appear just about everywhere else. I'm still aiming to avoid them both, because they already contribute to London's existing aesthetics through the public transport system and I think the city needs something newer and refreshing.

One way of referencing Johnston without actually using it, could be to play on the distinctive diamond which appears above the i's and j's. Maybe the diamond could decorate the crown(see previous blog), along with a selection of Johnston glyphs as gemstones?

Diamond: Wealth, Luxury, Prosperity, Beauty, Colour, Romance, 
Love & Freedom

The Crown

Crown: A symbol of Authority, Power, Victory and Immortality.

Existing Identity

Red: Love, Strength, Power, Celebration, Energy & Warmth.

Having looked at London's 'existing identity', there's one colour that pops up time and time again; the Queen's Guards, Beefeaters, Double Decker Buses, Post/Telephone Boxes, the Underground Roundel and the Central Line through London are all red.

Other traditional English symbols range from the Lion and the English Rose to the Oak Tree and of course the Crown.

Pub names also tend to sum up the iconography of England, here's the Top 10:

The Crown, The Red Lion, The Royal Oak, The Swan, The White Hart, 
The Railway, The Plough, The White Horse, The Bell and The New Inn.

Brilliant Britain

Watching Sport Relief last night was a great inspiration, especially to see Eddie Izzard run 43 Marathons in 51 Days. That's not normal!

He said, 'We were designed for this, to run and hunt, we weren't designed to eat cake and play on the Playstation.' 

... And last night, as he raised over £1 Million for the charity, he mentioned Brilliant Britain; which leads me onto a potential idea, giving London a flexible identity and tailoring it to individual campaigns within the brand(using adjectives and nouns).

Arts > Limelight London
Music > Lyrical London
Accomodation > Luxurious London
Business > Logical London
History > Landmark London
Education > Learning London
Mayor > Leading London

Likeable London, Lovable London, Limitless London, Lively London, Lavish London, Lucky London, Leisurely London, Laidback London, Lighthearted London, Lionhearted London, Landscape London, Last-Minute London, Lifestyle London and Liberal London?

Lion-don

Lion: Proud, King of the Beasts, Honour, Courage, Power, Authority & Loyalty.

Britain's love affair with Lions is centuries old, I've traced it back to 1198 so far, when Richard the Lionheart adopted the three lions as England's Coat of Arms. The Lion(and the Unicorn) also appears in the United Kingdom's Coat of Arms, which can be seen on the British passport – the Lion standing for England and the Unicorn for Scotland. 

The tradition still runs true today, especially in the national sports teams and even as a mark of quality on our eggs. The Trafalgar Square Lions are even said to come alive if Big Ben chimes 13 times(this is definitely a true story).

...and if you haven't seen the footage of Christian the Lion, here you go, its an emotional rollercoaster.

ChatRoulette

Ok, so ChatRoulette seems to have revived the magic of the internet, and it seemed a good way to make contact with the outside world and understand the preconceptions and reputation of London. So I asked the ChatRoulette public to describe 'London' in three words...

Negatives:

Noisy/ Busy/ Crowded/ Dirty/ Damp/ Grey/ Cold/ Demanding/ Scary/ Criminal

Positives:

Artistic/ Great History/ Rock & Roll/ Cool/ Smart/ Modern/ Awesome/ Epic/ Big/ Huge/ Beautiful/ Attractive/ Cosmopolitan/ Chic/ Scenic/ Nice/ Important/ Neutral/ Likeable

Inevitably, it's turned into a haven for exhibitionists and perverts. I'm sure I won't need to tell you that the 'penis to boob' ratio was heavily outnumbered. I think Russian Roulette might have been a better game for them.

Heritage

Do we need to embrace our history and heritage to design for the future?

It goes without saying that London has a rich history in just about everything. The Keep Calm And Carry On propaganda posters from 1939 have had a massive revival in the last ten years, it was one of three prints published by the British Government at the beginning of WWII, the two other prints were Your Courage, Your Cheerfulness, Your Resolution Will Bring Us Victory and Freedom is in Peril.

A few years on and Official War Artist Abram Games, designed the emblem for the 1951 Festival of Britain, a national exhibition to celebrate the British arts, to restore pride and demonstrate a sense of progress and recovery after the war. The branding of London, should act in a similar fashion, celebrating the city and progressing from the recent recession.