I’m happy to announce the publishing of my book for Thames and Hudson ‘Hand Drawn Maps – a guide for creatives’, due out in the UK on 8th June.
I’ve been passionate about drawing maps by hand for many years now and see it as an art that is slowing sinking under the weight of technology. There are many ways to map our environments. I believe broader, more flexible mapmaking processes (other than digital) can enrich and increase understanding of our place in the environment outside of political, scientific and transport needs.
‘Hand Drawn Maps’ is more fun than academic with exercises and illustrations throughout. The book is separated into sections covering topics such as ‘Mapping Basics’: (Compass Roses, Cartouche and Symbols etc)…
A compass rose.
A map cartouche.
The ‘Mapping Locations’ section follows (using text, pictures, negative space and transit maps for example.)
A map of Berlin using text alone.
A transit map of the London Underground
‘Mapping Concepts’ includes palmistry maps, mapping the body, sensory maps and family trees amongst others:
Mapping destiny
and finally ‘Map Projects’ (a wedding invitation, travel journals, a Valentine’s card etc) for the more advanced map maker with a little practice under their belt. The projects show how you can put hand drawn maps to everyday use.
A wedding invitation with hand drawn map
Each chapter gives examples of maps plus tips, pull out pages and templates to create your own hand drawn maps and map projects. As an established book illustrator, it fits in well with my illustration body of work. Clearly I designed it to be more illustrative than as part of my fine art practice. However, the ethos that lies behind ‘Hand Drawn Maps’ remains the same. It is a call for people to recognise mapping by hand as an artform in itself and how, as opposed to a more technologically advanced mapping process, it can offer a very unique and deeper understanding of personal environment.
Copies can be ordered here for the UK. European and US publisher to be announced.
