I was contacted by a local interior designer to create a large scale map of New Zealand for a restaurant in Pacific Beach, San Diego. Above are some shots of the bar.
Above is the interior designer's mood board prior to starting the project. We talked about color pallet, texture, scale and materials. I pulled the images below and we spent some time ideating together.
I partnered closely with the interior designer. We collaborated closely along the way as I produced drafts.
My first comps were in acrylic paint. The feedback that I got was that they had too much depth and texture. The interior designer wanted them to look flat. So I took to the computer to design them in Adobe Illustrator.
I was able to scan my ink drawings into the computer and use them as a kick-off point for the final design. My favorite was the Hobbit house, a place in NZ where you can visit the sets of the Lord of The Rings films.
Once the illustrations were done I composited them in Adobe Illustrator and prepped them for the printer. These two maps were printed on acrylic and hand-cut.
After the wooden ceiling was installed the maps were placed in the center of the space. The restaurant has a large glass, garage door facing the main street so that you can see the maps when you are walking by.
