‘In order to be able to function in the world humans have found it essential to map their surroundings in order to impart information to others and to understand the world for themselves. However, it has not always only for practical reasons that maps have been made. People, from childhood, have a natural urge to make them and maps are fascinating to look at. They draw the viewer in and anyone who makes a map demonstrates their thought process through the way it is laid out and designed and their preferences in what they choose to map.’
In this project our second year students were asked to produce a piece of work in book form – this could be taken in as broad a sense as they wished. The book had to contain maps and or diagrams that explained a place. This place could be somewhere they knew intimately, somewhere they were keen to explore or learn about through mapping it, or an imaginary place. Whichever they chose, students had to make a book that gave as much information to the viewer as possible using mainly images.

The images could be made using any medium, students chose to draw, paint, print or use digital techniques to produce there final books. The second years pushed boundaries in both there thought processes and practical techniques, resulting in a unique range of beautiful and provoking books. See below for a selection of our students completed ‘map books’.

Ryan Hamill

Rachel Donaldson

Ann MacLeod

William Hughes

Arran Stamper

Many thanks to the University Special Collections for inviting us to view a selection of rare books that have inspired many of our students to develop there book binding skills.

Feb 24, 2015