London by Design
About the gallery
London’s transport design is synonymous with London itself. Its classic designs have become familiar images which have been admired and imitated worldwide. Since 1908 TfL and its predecessors have pushed the aim of a bespoke, uniform, and coherent fully designed environment.
London by Design celebrates the key design moments in London’s transport design heritage. Some of London’s most well-known and best loved designs are from the ‘golden age’ of transport design, which is still celebrated today, and the design philosophy of the time still has influence on major transport projects today.
Must-see objects
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The roundel, the symbol of London's public transport and a powerful icon of the city, is over 100 years old. Discover its history, from humble beginnings to a unified corporate identity we know today.
London’s diagrammatic Underground map can truly be described as a design classic. See how the map has evolved from tracing the first railways in the Capital to encompassing an integrated network that covers ever growing distances.
The modern graphic poster came into use in the 1890s, revolutionising the fields of publicity, advertising and propaganda. Read about the birth of London’s transport posters between 1908 and the start of the First World War.
More from the Museum guide
From horse-drawn vehicles to trams, trolleybuses and the first motor buses, discover what surface transport was like in the first half of the 20th century.
Through both the First and Second World Wars, London’s transport system and its staff played a vital role in keeping the city moving and contributed to the wider war effort.
Test your STEM skills, solve transport conundrums faced by modern day engineers, and enjoy a series of fun interactive exhibits in our Future Engineers gallery.
