The Language of Cities

“Be inspired and nurtured by the world around you.”

Taking themes from his latest book, The Language of Cities, Design Museum Director Deyan Sudjic joined the AKQA team and clients in London to discuss the underlying forces that shape the urban spaces around us. Deyan shared his findings on what gives a city its distinctive identity: architecture, climate and typography are all factors, but so are the people and the symbols that each citizen recognises and associates their city with. He said that cities need to offer more than the basic ideas of commodity and exchange in order to survive and thrive in the age of technology, such as inspiring meeting places like galleries and museums. Reflecting on his home, and favourite city London, Deyan said: “A city imprints itself on your mental map.”