On the Map Project

I am already really keen to get started on this project 'On the Map' that we were issued with the other day.  The project is in partnership with 'Don't Panic' magazine and Profile Books who have set up an open competition to celebrate the release of 'On the Map' - the new book from best-selling author of Just My Type, Simon Garfield.

The project objective is to design a map of your weekend, showing everything you wish to include from the places you visit and the things you do to the bizarre mental journeys! We can be creative as we want as long as it's within the context of the brief.

I'm deciding if I should make elements in 3D and photograph them or if I should work on a flat surface, maybe incorporate collage and mixed media.  As always I have a set process and order of how I approach briefs and like to begin by researching, looking at influences and starting a 'Sense of Place' sketchbook.

I spent some time looking at the The Hand Drawn Map Association here, There's a wonderful collection of hand drawn maps sent in and showcased from different people (see below).








I also took a look at David Robinson who spent hours and hours drawing enormous maps of the city of London (see below).





There's so much detail in them! - After looking at this work I was intrigued to visit David Robinson's website, it's really packed full of quirky drawings and filled sketchbooks of things he likes, sees etc - It's almost like he documents things that he's interested in, Here are some of his drawings...






I referred back to Keri Smith's book 'How to be an Explorer' which I really love and looked at it in first year, it's filled with ways of looking and noticing and creating a visual/collected world of things and ideas.  I think it will be relevant for this project of mapping and documenting things along the way.  Below are a few pointers from her book that I am taking on board for this project.



Another reference I am looking at is Katharine Harmon's book 'You are Here: Personal Geographies and other Maps of Imagination' for ideas of ways to communicate a map.  The following images are taken from her book.





Now it's time to make a start!