An illustrated map for Strijp-S

We recently had a blast designing a theme park-like map for Strijp-S. Here is a brief explanation how it came together.

The Strijp-S Experience
Strijp-s is a former Philips compound near the center of Eindhoven. Over the past century, many different buildings have been built here. You can really read the area’s history. Currently, it’s is being transformed into a new high quality urban area: an experience where people want to be part of. This experience needed to be translated into a functional medium. That’s why ‘Matte! Nande?’, being Strijp-S’ resident animation studio, was asked to produce an illustrated map. The result is a highly detailed map which at the same time looks fun and energetic.

Designing the map
First we had to determine the right angle and perspective. The area has many small buildings, with interesting angles. But it was impossible to capture every corner. We finally settled on the angle that gave the best look at every building on the compound.

Layout
The layout is sketched with pencil on paper. This is basicly done to set the position of all objects on the image, putting them in a nice balance and making them easy to read. Not all of the details will be put it. Especially trees and other smaller objects have been added later.

 

matte-nande-strijp-s-paint
Painting
Now that we have the right layout, the painting can start. We used Gouache, ink and coloured pencil. Gouache has beautifully vibrant colors which dry quickly and are easy to combine with other media.

matte-nande-strijp-s-painting
matte-nande-strijp-s-process
Characters
Strijp-S has a lot of different functions and activities going on. To represent these, we placed many bigger and smaller characters on them map. They emphasize the diversity and at the same time add human life to the map. The characters are not drawn on paper, but with a Wacom Cintiq.

Why wait?
Download the map here and come visit us at Strijp-S!