Hand-drawn, detailed city maps

Maps can be about a lot of things, from strictly geography and location down to the individuals who reside in an area. Illustrator Jenni Sparks embeds herself in a city, takes copious notes, and draws detailed maps about what she learns. Her style lends to the community side of the spectrum.

Sparks has made four maps so far: London, Berlin, New York, and most recently, San Francisco (above).

London map

New York map

Here’s a short video on her process, which mainly involves walking around the city and talking to locals about what they think is important.

All four maps are available as prints.

See also Stephen Walter’s detailed, hand-drawn map of London from a few years back.