jenni sparks illustrates the distinctive personality of place in her series of culture maps

london-based illustrator jenni sparks visualises the distinctive personalities of a place in her series of culture maps. the iconic aspects of a particular area as well as themes drawn from the artist’s own experiences help to inform the visual guides.
detailed typographic illustration of the soho area of london

the ten detailed illustrations convey british cities including the trendy seaside town of brighton as well as some of london’s most popular haunts. sparks has spent over a year on the project with a large portion of the her time dedicated to researching each place, aiming to represent life honestly as opposed to only showing the typically glamorous side of urban life.

Detailed illustration of the Chelsea area of London

the pieces adopt a doodle-aesthetic – as if drawn upon a napkin during a long stint at a coffee shop at each location – capturing sparks’ candid interpretations. whilst appearing playful and fun, the series hopes to touch on deeper issues such as gentrification and the multicultural aspects of city life. in a piece based on brixton, an industrious history can be mapped upon a timeline of miniature markings that also reference the areas headlining riots and love of david bowie.

Detailed typographic illustration of the Brixton area of London

building’s from london’s burgeoning skyline help to depict the city’s trendy borough of shoreditch, home to inked men drinking beer in hibiscus printed shirts. meanwhile messier visual aspects – such as rubbish bags, cigarette butts, and nitrous oxide canisters – reveal the uglier side of an urban generation. the works form part of an ongoing series, with the aim to illustrate other smaller cities and develop the collection further.

detailed illustration of the shoreditch area of london

detailed illustration of the city of bristol, UK

detailed illustration of the peckham area of london

detailed illustration of the hackney area of london

detailed illustration of the islington area of london

detailed illustration of the city of brighton.

detailed illustration of the camden area of london

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: kieron marchese | designboom