Creative Maps of London by Dex

For more than ten years, London artist and designer Dex has poured a creative obsession into a singular ongoing project: a body of typographic maps that chart the city’s books, films, music, streets, and secret corners. What began in 2012 with The Literary London Map grew into a trilogy and eventually a wider constellation of print works. Each map took up to a year of research, drawing, and refinement, becoming a sustained act of devotion to London’s cultural fabric. The project culminated in 2023 with The Culture Map of London, a greatest hits piece that distills the entire decade into one meticulously crafted screenprint.

Dex’s relationship with the city is both personal and archival. The first map, The Literary London Map, was followed by The London Film Map in 2015 and The Music Map of London in 2018. Together they form a pop culture trilogy that celebrates the capital’s reputation as one of the world’s most layered and expressive creative cities. Fictional characters, cinematic locations and legendary musicians are plotted across the map according to where they belong in London’s collective memory. As a result, the maps act like cultural atlases. They show where scenes unfolded, songs were born and stories took root.

During the years between these major releases, Dex continued exploring London typographically. He designed maps dedicated to the city’s pubs, animals, the River Thames and even a reimagined version of the London Underground. The consistent thread running through all the work is a handcrafted typographic style that feels both detailed and energetic. Each letter and line is fully integrated into the geography, becoming part of the landscape rather than floating above it.

“I always wanted the maps to feel like they grew out of the city,” Dex says. “Every piece of lettering has to earn its place. The maps are not just lists of references. They are portraits of a place and its culture.”

The culmination of this decade-long fixation arrived in 2023 with The Culture Map of London. It brings together highlights from the entire project, presenting them as a unified work that recognises the richness of London’s creative history. Dex has produced the maps in a variety of finishes and techniques, from fluorescent inks and monochromatic runs to gold foil and screenprints on unconventional papers such as GF Smith’s Plike. This material experimentation reflects the same playful spirit found in the maps themselves.

Over the years, Dex’s typographic maps have appeared in Time Out, The Independent, The Evening Standard, BuzzFeed, the Londonist’s Mapped compendium and numerous blogs. They have also reached audiences internationally, including a cover feature for Japan’s Brain Magazine. Exhibitions across London, such as The Other Art Fair and Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, have further cemented the maps as part of the city’s contemporary print culture.

Now, with the release of The Culture Map of the World in 2025, Dex marks a shift. The London chapter is complete. The new map widens the lens beyond the city that defined his practice, suggesting a new stage of global curiosity and creative exploration.

Dex works from a mews street studio in London, producing illustration, animation, stencil pieces, and spray paint works alongside his maps. He is also known as Christopher Trotman, co-founder and creative director of Run For The Hills, an award-winning creative design house specialising in branding, art, and interiors. Across all his creative output, the typographic maps remain a signature achievement, capturing the cultural pulse of London in print form.

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