London icons – a long list
London already has a whole load of iconic things.
Black Cabs, image from o.ivanchenko
London buses, image from norma penner
Big Ben, image from Rex Maximilian
Phone boxs, image from greenwood100
Policeman’s helmets, image from George Eastman House
Guards, image from MatAnt
The Gerkin, image from .martin.
The London Eye, image from night86mare
St Pauls, image from BombDog
The London Underground roundel, image © Transport for London
Johnston, image from Wikipedia
Tube map, image © Transport for London
Comment on this post:
A Brand for London 
like the idea of sticking with the London icons but unfortunately we no longer have the Routemaster buses or red phone boxes. And I’m not sure that bobbies wear helmets any more, do they?
The roundel should absolutely be incorporated into some part of the design….
Londoners can be irreverent and are definitely diverse, as it’s archtecture and it’s ‘function’ (business, home, culture . . .)
Think Jamie Reid’s “Never Mind The Bollocks” graphics.
Could his approach suggest a mutable, generative logo system where any ‘London’ lettering (from Westminster Cathederal carvings to Johnston to Oystercard to a handwritten sign in Peckham) could make up a simple recognisable phrase ie: “LDN”?
Decide what the required letters are, take lots of photographs, vectorsie, randomise.
What is recognisable is the wordshape and maybe placement, not necessarily the font. If it sits within a simple shape, does that make it simpler and more ‘easy’?