Design stories
Introduction
From the logo to the map and posters to moquette, London’s transport design is known across the world.
Discover London’s iconic design through our collection.
Discover more through our collection
Stories
Walter Spradbery was a prolific designer, painter and poet. Read about Spradbery's fruitful relationship with London Transport which spanned over three decades.
Sport is a vital part of London life and public transport plays a crucial role in moving people to cricket, football and rugby matches to the Boat Race, Derby Day, the Olympic Games and even Crufts.
Enid Marx was an influential artist and designer whose work included textile design, printmaking, book illustration and even postage stamps. Read more about her work for London Transport.
Over public holidays, such as Easter, London Transport encouraged travellers to take advantage of the empty seats on buses, trams and the Underground for leisure travel. Take a browse through some of the most memorable Easter posters here.
Learn how work on the south London Northern line Extension extension has also revealed surprising links between the Underground and the area’s queer history.
As the snow falls across the Capital, we're celebrating some of the stunning posters in our collection that celebrate different winter sports across the Capital.
Merry Christmas from London Transport! See our collection of some of our favourite Christmas posters here.
From 1908 until the present day, posters have promoted the endless possibilities of London’s world-famous public transport network. Learn about the designers behind London transport’s most famous winter posters.
Laura Knight was one of the most popular British artists of her lifetime, with her success paving the way for greater recognition of women artists. Learn about Knight's poster commissions for London Underground and London Transport.
These posters highlight initiatives to make London cleaner and greener, urging travellers to leave their cars at home and use public transport or other ways of getting about, such as cycling or walking.
As the nights draw in and frost sparkles in the cold morning air, our thoughts turn to winter. Explore some of our posters celebrating the cooler months in London, from ice-skating to country walks and shopping.
Discover David Langdon's Billy Brown of London Town - a smartly dressed cartoon character who showed people how to behave and stay safe when travelling around the city during the Second World War.
Take a look at some of the classic designs from London Transport's rich design heritage that have gone on to provide inspiration for a new generation of artists.
Take a closer look at some of our favourite details, fixtures and fittings designed by Holden that have made a lasting and positive contribution to the city and its transport network.
Moquette - from the French for carpet - is London's most recognisable fabric. Discover its history since its first introduction in the 1920s to today.
During the 1920s and 1930s the Underground Group’s posters reached a peak of stylistic quality. Learn how London Transport became a leading patron of the arts, commissioning a wide range of designers, from the famous and established to the new and unknown.
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.
In the years after the Second World War, London Transport (LT) was carrying more passengers than ever before and the pre-war tradition of pictorial posters continued with the commissioning of a range of interesting artists and graphic designers. Learn how this changed and how by the 1970s artists began to be replaced by advertising agencies.
Learn how London’s transport posters continued to evolve through the 1980s onwards including; reinforcing London Underground's corporate identity, Art on the Underground, the privatisation of London Transport Advertising, and the Museum's own poster commissions.
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.
Other stories
Tom Eckersley: master graphic designer and king of collage. Read more about an influential poster designer with a distinctive style.
Our Metropolitan Railway coach dates from 1900. Read more about one of a group of coaches designed to be hauled by steam locomotives on the Metropolitan Railway.
Our West Ham Corporation electric tram dates from 1910. Learn how electric trams operated in London from the early 1900s to the 1950s.
Our Leyland X2 type bus was one of the ‘first generation’ of motorbuses to run on London’s streets. Learn more about one of the earliest surviving motorbuses in the country.
Abram Games was among the most influential poster designers of his generation. Learn more about his commissions for London Transport.
Edward McKnight Kauffer made his name as a master of poster design in the UK. Read more about the star designer of LT's posters.
As well as the red bus, the other iconic vehicle of London’s streets is the black cab. Read a short history of the Carbodies FX4S Plus taxi.
London’s public transport system is known the world over. Learn how and why posters were first commissioned by the Underground.
Learn about LT's advertising across history, from enamel signs in the late nineteenth century to digital screens in the twenty-first
Hans Unger was one of the UK’s most important post-war graphic designers. Explore Unger’s lively and varied LT posters.
Since 2004, London Underground have commissioned a variety of British and international artists to create covers for their pocket Tube maps, representing one of the largest public art commissions in the UK.
A look back on the occasions when King Charles visited and travelled on London’s transport network.
Browse by category
Stories about the marvels of engineering that have kept Londoners moving - from buses and trains to escalators and ticket machines.
Read about all of London's modes of transport from riverboats in the 1800s to Tube trains, buses, bicycles and even cable cars of today
Discover the fascinating stories of the people behind London’s transport – including directors, drivers, canteen workers, architects and designers.
London’s transport played an extraordinary part in both world wars. Find out more about the efforts of staff at home and overseas.
