Two iconic brands and one unsung hero of design come together this May. Transport for London (TfL) and AGA are set to join forces at independent London design show Clerkenwell Design Week (19-21 May) to celebrate the work of Douglas Scott, creator of the classic AGA and the iconic Routemaster. The project will kick off TfL’s year-long celebration of world class transport design, as part of the Transported by Design campaign.
TfL is well known as a trailblazer in industrial design. The names of Edward Johnston and Harry Beck are established icons of design having created the Underground roundel, its typeface and the tube map. But one designer from the era has remained elusive. His name is Douglas Scott (1913–1990) and he designed arguably two of the UK’s most iconic products: the Routemaster (1947-56) and the AGA cooker (1938).
Transport for London (TfL) and AGA have come together to celebrate the incredible work of Scott and their joint design history. Together they will be showing a specially commissioned AGA City 60 with TfL branding. “I have always designed for the market…private and personal aesthetics are out of place in industrial design,” Douglas Scott.
Scott learnt metal studies at Central School of Arts. His work at industrial design consultancy Raymond Loewy under Carl Otto between 1936 and 1939 resulted in the 1938 re-design of the AGA that rapidly became the aspirational cooker. This was in no small part thanks to AGA’s head salesman David Ogilvy - the soon-to-be global advertising genius and inspiration for TV’s Mad Men.
Beginning this summer, TfL/Transported by Design is a celebration of world-class transport design that helps keep London moving but also makes life in London better. Register for tickets to Clerkenwell Design Week here.
