Mapping Berlin

Laura Harker rounds up some of the finest cartographical representations of the city…

Cartography is both a utilitarian and creative artform. Predominantly a way for us to understand the world, maps plot out a given in order to enable us to travel from A to B. Yet since the very first maps, they have incorporated a more subjective artistic vision.

One of the first world maps, created by Ptolemy, was redesigned in the fifteenth century using creative license to personify the wind, and the seventeenth-century European cartographers included deities in the periphery details.

To this day, designers and artists still enjoy conjuring up unique ways to represent geography. Given Berlin’s abundance of creative types—artists, illustrators, graphic designers, bonafide cartographers—it’s hardly a surprise there are many interesting and inspiring visual takes on the city’s landscape. Below are some of our favourites…

Mark Andrew Webber

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Over the space of five months, Mark Andrew Weber painstakingly hand-carved his map of Berlin from one enormous sheet of lino. The graphic map has none of the usual icons, images, or legends; it’s entirely made up of typefaces, all copied from signs he spotted while he spent six months wandering the city. What makes the feat of hand-carving all the minute details onto the map even more amazing is Weber was diagnosed with chronic arthritis at the age of 12, something he believes his love of art has helped him overcome.

Future Mapping Company

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The Future Mapping Company’s beautifully detailed map is composed out of silk-coated paper, metallic inks and a lithographic printing process. Blues and greens highlight the city’s natural beauty, with parks, woods, allotments and rivers are all plotted out alongside some of Berlin’s most famous buildings. The map also manages to capture Berlin’s love of bikes, as all the city’s cycle paths have been printed onto the streets.

Jenni Sparks

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Jenni Sparks brings her hand-drawn map to life with cute illustrations and fun facts. Commissioned by Ever Made

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