Map Design: Hand-Drawn versus Vector

We have designed maps for all sorts of various uses: events, venues, camping grounds and diagrams.

Because we offer hand-drawn illustration as well as vector illustration, we sometimes get requests for a particular type of style of map, but there are both pros and cons to either type of illustration.

Vector Maps

Vector maps are often flat in design, using shapes for areas and icons rather than images to depict what’s on the map. Vector maps can be resized as big as required (to the size of a billboard and beyond if you wanted!). Vectors are also easy-to-edit shapes, making changes quick and efficient – very helpful for events where the layout can change very close to the cutoff time for printing.

Hand-Drawn Maps

Hand-drawn maps are completed in the same style as all of my other illustrations. They can look more dynamic than a vector map, using illustrated items and objects instead of flat shapes. However, hand-drawn maps can’t be enlarged easily – they need to be drawn at their final size from the start, no matter how big that may be. The positioning of items are harder to move, but each one is uniquely drawn from scratch.