ANGLES
Some of the cities covered
by Blue Crow Media's
portfolio of architecture
and design-themed maps
include Paris, London,
New York, Berlin, Sydney
and Tokyo to name a few.
Not many people like Brutalism, and buildings from the
era are being razed regularly. The value of the maps are
quickly shifting from exploration to documentation.
Tell us about the process of putting an architectural city
map together. How do you create the maps?
Once I've decided on a title and found an editor,
we discuss the buildings to potentially go on the
map, the editor does her research, and I commission
a photographer to shoot a selection of buildings.
Meanwhile, Jaakko works on the design. If sales are good
from the previous map, we'll visit and explore the city
with a rough draft of the map and tweak appropriately.
Then off to the printer.
Are there plans to create architectural maps for other
styles and typologies?
I've published a few others including a Constructivist
map of Moscow, an overview of 20th century architecture in
Berlin, and maps of concrete architecture in New York and
Tokyo. Recently, I published the first in a new series featuring
the design of transit systems with the London Underground
Architecture & Design Map.
How were the company's early days? Did the idea
of architecture-themed maps generate your desired
figures on the first try?
I'd been publishing as Blue Crow Media in a few
mediums and with a variety of subject matters before the
architecture maps, so I knew what I was doing by the time
I published the first Brutalist map. It's taken a while to
build up to a place where I don't have to constantly check
my accounts, but I'm aware that what I am doing is very
niche and could easily stop generating revenue one day. So
I have to stay on my toes and ahead of the curve.
What factors inform your selection of cities to create
maps for? I really think you should consider Manila for
your Brutalist maps series as we have quite a collection.
I'm up for it! Obviously, margins are thin in map
publishing and some maps do well while others take a loss. It's
a matter of balancing this to keep the business afloat but also
to ensure that the titles are interesting. I look out for cities with
a robust number of independent book shops (the maps do not
sell in chains) and interesting, under-appreciated architecture.
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