The history of graphic design is often presented as a linear series of ‘ages’ featuring key individuals considered to have contributed to ‘the canon’. Such a linear and hierarchical model lends naturally to the writing of chapters in a book and the titles of weekly lectures. However a review of contemporary graphic design reveals an expanded and highly complex arrangement of heterogeneous values and practice that evades convenient linear account. Reflecting upon observations gathered during a series of weekly student seminars, the author considers the limitations of conventional written histories to accommodate diversity. Specifically the paper examines how various forms of practice might be distinguished by the initial intent that brought the designer, client and means of production together. Demonstrating how this conceptual arrangement might be visualized, the paper proposes that the process of mapping and the adoption of metaphor and allegory offer compelling tools to articulate complexity and aid our understanding of how history might have evolved into contemporary practice. Through seeking to acknowledge the histories, habits and values of various ‘peoples’ and ‘tribes’ the paper will argue that the process of mapping offers the means to acknowledge professional and cultural diversity.