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InspirationGraphic Design

Minimal graphic art that represents London's biggest icons using only rectangles

"Representing a city with iconic things made only from rectangles," explains the reasoning behind Nick Barclay's latest project, I Love London. His signature minimalist style has once again left us guessing what each of his graphic artworks represents – this time focusing on the capital's recognisable structures and landmarks.

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Person standing against dark brick wall viewing three minimalist artworks by Nick Barclay, each featuring coloured rectangles on white paper representing London icons

The art director from Sydney, Australia, has made quite a name for himself with his poster projects, either paying tribute to the Tour de France, taking a closer look at depression or summing up our favourite cocktails. Although the subject may vary, the theme is consistent – how can one represent something significant by only using a few simple graphical elements?

In this case, Nick celebrates London using only rectangles to represent something that he believes you would instantly associate with the Big Smoke. "The idea is that these objects are so iconic I could present a simple shape in a certain colour with the name London and their brain would do the rest to turn each rectangle into a bus a taxi, Tower Bridge or Fish & Chips," explains Nick.

"In that way, for that split moment in time, their brain will transport them to London or bring up a memory or feeling from being there."

You can discover more of Nick's latest work at nickbarclaydesigns.com.

All images courtesy of Nick Barclay

Wheat-pasted street art showing Nick Barclay's "I Love London" poster with a red rectangle and text, surrounded by other urban artwork and graffiti
Minimalist graphic design by Nick Barclay depicting Fish & Chips using gold and yellow rectangles on white textured background, labelled London.05
Crumpled white paper background with a black rectangle in the centre, labelled London. 01 at the bottom
Woman in blue skirt standing before a blue metal gate covered with colourful graffiti and minimal rectangle designs representing London icons
Minimalist graphic poster by Nick Barclay representing a London icon using only a red rectangle on white textured background, labelled London 02
Three horizontal rectangles in red, blue and red stacked vertically representing the London Underground logo, on textured white background with "London" and "03" text
Minimalist poster by Nick Barclay featuring a black rectangle above a red rectangle on white background, labelled London 07
Minimalist graphic representation of Tower Bridge using two tan rectangles on either side and a turquoise rectangle across the centre against a textured white background
Collection of minimalist rectangular graphic designs in yellow, red and other colours representing London icons, each labelled "London" by artist Nick Barclay
Minimalist poster with a cream rectangle above a bright yellow rectangle on a textured white background, labelled London, representing a London icon using only geometric shapes
Minimalist poster by Nick Barclay representing London using only blue rectangles arranged in an abstract pattern on a crumpled white paper texture background
Nick Barclay's minimalist artwork featuring red, white and blue rectangles representing a London icon, displayed on a street billboard with a person posing next to it
Red rectangle on crumpled white paper representing a London icon from Nick Barclay's I Love London minimalist poster series
Nick Barclay's I Love London poster displayed on a brick wall beneath a concrete underpass, showing a grid of ten minimalist rectangular shapes in various colours representing iconic London symbols
Nick Barclay's minimalist poster for London Eye, represented by a single white rectangle on a textured grey background with "London." and "08." labelling
Street art mural featuring Nick Barclay's I Love London series with minimal rectangular shapes representing iconic London symbols on a white brick wall beneath a Lyon Street sign.
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