Bespoke Map Illustration

Discuss Your Map Project

I create custom illustrated maps that help people understand places, navigate information, and connect with locations through clear visual storytelling. Each map is designed around its audience, purpose, and context.

Cropped section of a Boston city map illustration by Anna Simmons in turquoise, yellow-green, and hot red, showing detailed neighbourhood landmarks with playful hand drawn lettering.

A Boston city map combining detailed neighbourhood landmarks with playful hand-drawn lettering, a colourful example of what custom map illustration can say and do. View full project

  • Illustrated maps that feel lived-in and real

  • I create maps that help people understand a place and feel its character

  • I think about how a place connects - physically and culturally - then build it up layer by layer

  • I use textured colour and hand lettering to create maps that feel believable and rooted

  • Sometimes the best approach is simple and pared back. Sometimes it’s layered and nostalgic

  • I adjust the visual language to suit the brief, always with a strong sense of place at the core

What makes an illustrated map different?

A custom map illustration helps people understand a place, follow a route, or explore information visually. Unlike a standard map, it can combine wayfinding, storytelling, landmarks, hand lettering, and brand personality into a single piece of communication.

In my work, I use these elements to create maps that are both useful and engaging to explore. My role is to find the right combination for the audience while expressing the character and identity of a place.

  • Boston

    A map can explain relationships, not just locations

    I look at how places connect to one another and build visual hierarchy around those relationships, helping readers understand an area quickly.

  • NCL

    Information can become part of the illustration

    Facts, routes, and practical information don't have to sit outside a map. They can be woven into the artwork so people discover them naturally as they explore.

  • reek

    Maps can communicate atmosphere

    Illustration allows me to emphasise the character of a place as well as its geography, helping readers form an impression before they begin reading the article.

Every map tells a story! Here are a few of mine

Each project was shaped by what the client needed and where it would be used

Itinerary Maps

I create bespoke itinerary maps that transform journeys, routes, and experiences into clear, engaging visuals. Each map is designed to guide audiences, highlight key locations, and communicate information effectively - whether for travel, events, or storytelling projects.

Cropped, close-up section of an itinerary map illustration by Anna Simmons which includes a panel of hand-lettered facts about Alaska alongside a coastal stretch labelled Ketchican and Misty Fjords with whales and primary colour boats in the blue sea

When information is woven into a map, people absorb it almost without noticing - navigating visually, discovering details as they go, rather than reading a list.

Alaskan Cruise Itinerary Map

I illustrated an itinerary map for cruise line marketing, designed to guide passengers through Alaska’s ports of call. This project combined travel information design with engaging visual storytelling, creating a map that is both functional and memorable. Hand lettered fun facts add character and highlight the unique details of each location.

View the full project here

Tour de France Route Map

I designed this illustrated itinerary map of the famous cycling competition route, showing each stage in detail and including a flight path illustration for the transfer from Bern to Paris. This multi-leg route map guides audiences through the full race, combining technical route information with clear visual storytelling.

To see the project in full, go here.