Illustrated town map design in Ireland is increasingly recognised as a professional standard for community and competition submissions — and for good reason. When the Claremorris Tidy Towns committee needed a map that could represent their town clearly, professionally, and with real character, they turned to Designwest to produce a solution that would stand apart from the generic digital alternatives most groups rely on.
The brief came directly from feedback received from Tidy Towns adjudicators. The committee had been adapting Google Maps imagery for their submissions, a common workaround that the competition now advises against. With a town of Claremorris’s scale and the growing number of active projects being documented each year, the committee needed something better: a bespoke, illustrated town map that could anchor their submission and serve the community well into the future.
This is a project about craft meeting strategy. The result is an A2-scale hand-illustrated map of Claremorris, Co. Mayo — a long-term asset that replaces the committee’s previous approach entirely and opens up applications well beyond the TidyTowns competition itself.
The Brief: What Claremorris Tidy Towns Needed
The SuperValu TidyTowns competition, administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development and running since 1958, is Ireland’s most well-known community environmental initiative. With over 900 groups entering nationally, it is a significant annual undertaking for towns of every size.
A town map is a mandatory part of every entry. The official guidance is clear: it must be a legible, clearly structured document showing all streets, roads, key buildings, landmarks, and project reference points, with a clean legend. Adjudicators use it as a navigation tool and as a record of community activity. Critically, the competition guidelines explicitly advise groups not to use Google mapping, noting it is often unclear and inaccurate at the scales required.
For Claremorris, an expanding Mayo town that recorded a population of 3,857 in the 2022 census and sits at the junction of the N17 and N60 national routes, a simple hand-sketched diagram was no longer adequate. The committee had explored the possibility of producing two separate maps — a wider area map and a detailed town-centre map — but after reviewing the scope, budget, and long-term value, the decision was made to commission a single, high-quality illustrated map that could do both jobs and continue serving the committee for years to come.
Why a Hand-Illustrated Map, Not a Digital Redraw
The Problem with Google Maps for Tidy Towns Submissions
The TidyTowns entry form guidance is unambiguous on this point: groups are advised not to use Google mapping. The reasons are practical. Google Maps content is subject to Google’s terms of service, which restrict reproduction, redistribution, and commercial use. For a community group printing materials for submission, display, and distribution, this creates both a copyright issue and a clarity problem — Google Maps imagery, when extracted and rescaled, loses readability and lacks the visual hierarchy a handmade map naturally provides.
An illustrated map designed specifically for a town resolves all of this. It is original artwork, owned by the commissioner, free to print and reproduce in any format, and designed from the outset to communicate clearly at the sizes required.
Why Illustration Was the Right Solution
Designwest proposed a fully illustrated approach rather than a technical vector redraw. The reasoning was straightforward: a hand-illustrated map in pen and watercolour would produce something accurate, character-rich, and timeless. It would look like Claremorris, not like a generic town template.
Custom illustrated maps are in active use across Ireland’s tourism and heritage sector. They bring counties, towns, and individual attractions to life in a way that standard Ordnance Survey maps, while informative, simply cannot match. The approach suits audiences of all ages and offers a visual engagement that supports both official submissions and public-facing applications.
The Design and Illustration Process
On-Site Research by Illustrator Elaine Gill
To ensure accuracy and authenticity, illustrator Elaine Gill visited Claremorris before beginning work. This is standard professional practice for commissioned town maps of this scale. A site visit allows the illustrator to gather direct visual references, understand the town’s spatial relationships, note the character of specific landmarks, and build the contextual understanding that separates a bespoke illustrated map from a generic design exercise.
Claremorris offers rich source material. The town sits in a valley surrounded by rolling drumlins, with two lakes — Clare Lough and Mayfield Lough — in the town centre itself. The railway station, built in 1862, remains a functioning infrastructure point on the Dublin to Westport line. St Colman’s Church, built in 1911, is a landmark of significant scale in the town’s streetscape. The library occupies the former St John’s Anglican Church, dating to 1828 — a distinctive building with its own character. The Land of the Giants amenity area at McMahon Park brings a more playful identity to the southern end of the map. Each of these required accurate visual representation, not a generic icon.
From Pen and Watercolour to Print-Ready File
The illustration was produced by hand in pen and watercolour, then professionally scanned at high resolution with colour-matched output. The master artwork was designed at A2 size — 420mm × 594mm — which future-proofs it for large-format print applications, display signage, framed prints, and promotional materials. A2 artwork reduces cleanly to A3 for the TidyTowns submission requirement, which specifies that maps should be a manageable A3 or A4 size.
The final deliverables included both print-ready and digital-ready file versions. During the submission process, the original high-resolution PDF exceeded the competition’s online portal file-size limit, so an optimised PNG version was prepared to meet the upload restrictions while maintaining print quality. This is a practical aspect of Tidy Towns submissions that many groups encounter, and having a professional studio manage the file preparation made the process straightforward for the committee.
What the Illustrated Map Includes
Landmark and amenity selection was deliberate. The brief required that the map remain reusable year after year, which means the core illustrated artwork needed to capture stable, long-term features rather than temporary projects or facilities that might change.
The final illustrated map includes:
- St Colman’s RC Church
- Claremorris Town Library (the former St John’s Anglican Church)
- Silverbridge Shopping Centre
- Claremorris Town Hall and Theatre
- Claremorris Railway Station
- SuperValu Claremorris
- Garda Station and Fire Brigade Station
- Playground at Balla Road
- Clare Lake Amenity Area
- Land of the Giants / McMahon Park
- Mayfield Lake
- Mount St Michael’s School
- St Colman’s College
- Key road routes and directional labels (Castlebar, Galway/Sligo, Ballintubber)
- Mayo County crest and compass rose
Temporary or evolving features were intentionally excluded to protect the long-term relevance of the artwork. Tidy Towns project references — the numbered locations tied to competition entries — are handled separately via an overlaid legend rather than embedded into the illustration itself. This is what allows the committee to update their project list each year in Canva without requiring a redraw of the underlying map.
Delivering for a Hard Deadline
The TidyTowns submission deadline falls in early May each year, with judging conducted anonymously between June and August. This gives groups a fixed, non-negotiable production window. For a project involving commissioned illustration, high-resolution scanning, colour matching, layout, revisions, and final file preparation, that window is tight.
Designwest coordinated the full production process — from illustrator briefing and site visit through to artwork review, layout build, file preparation, and final export — within the required schedule. The committee received their files in time for the May submission with no last-minute issues.
Realistic timeline expectations for a commissioned illustrated town map of this scale: from commission to delivery, groups should allow eight to twelve weeks where possible. Tight deadlines can be accommodated but require clear briefs, fast feedback, and coordinated production from all parties from day one.
A Long-Term Asset for Claremorris
The map delivered for Claremorris Tidy Towns is not a one-use submission document. It is a permanent visual asset for the town.
Beyond the TidyTowns competition, the illustrated map has immediate potential applications across:
- Tourism: Fáilte Ireland and local tourism bodies frequently use illustrated maps in visitor centres, tourism brochures, and town trails. Claremorris, with its proximity to Knock Shrine, the Wild Atlantic Way, and Mayo’s wider tourism offering, is well positioned for this kind of material.
- Heritage trails: The town has substantial historical depth — from its Norman origins and the Prendergast family through to its Land League connections, railway history, and the stained glass of Harry Clarke in St Colman’s Church. An illustrated map is a natural base for a heritage trail guide.
- Community events and seasonal programming: Town festivals, community events, and seasonal activities regularly require location maps. A professionally illustrated base map reduces the design cost of every future application.
- Framed prints and visitor displays: The watercolour illustration style lends itself to display in public buildings, visitor centres, hotels, and community spaces.
- Educational and promotional material: Schools, county council publications, and local business associations can all draw on the asset.
The Canva-compatible overlay approach discussed with the committee represents a practical model for ongoing self-management. By maintaining the illustrated artwork as a locked background layer and building an editable legend overlay on top, the committee can update project markers and reference numbers independently each year without returning to a design studio — keeping annual costs low while preserving the quality of the underlying asset.
Key Takeaways
- Illustrated town map design in Ireland is the professional standard for TidyTowns submissions at scale; adjudicators actively advise against Google Maps use.
- A hand-illustrated map in pen and watercolour, designed at A2 with landmark illustration, creates a long-term community asset — not a one-season document.
- Illustrated maps designed for Ireland’s community and tourism sector work hardest when landmark selection prioritises long-term stability and the legend system is built for annual self-management.
- An A2 master artwork reduces cleanly to A3 for TidyTowns submission; print-ready and digital-optimised file versions are both required for a smooth submission process.
- Beyond the competition, a commissioned illustrated map opens up uses across tourism, heritage, community events, print, and display — making it a commercially sound investment for towns of any size.
FAQs: Illustrated Map Design Ireland
Why does the TidyTowns competition advise against using Google Maps?
The official TidyTowns guidance explicitly advises groups not to use Google mapping, citing issues with clarity and accuracy at the scale required for submissions. Google Maps content is also governed by terms of service that restrict reproduction and redistribution, creating copyright concerns for printed and publicly displayed material. A custom illustrated map avoids both problems.
What size should a TidyTowns map be?
The competition specifies that maps should be a manageable A4 or A3 size, depending on the scale of the town or village. For larger towns like Claremorris, A3 is the appropriate submission format. A professional illustrated map is typically produced at A2 and reduced to A3 for submission, preserving quality at both scales.
How long does it take to commission a hand-illustrated town map in Ireland?
For a map of this scope — full town illustration in pen and watercolour, A2 master artwork, landmark selection, legend design, and print-ready file output — allow eight to twelve weeks from commission to delivery. Tight deadlines closer to the TidyTowns May submission window can be accommodated but require an immediate start, clear brief, and prompt client feedback throughout.
What is the difference between a hand-illustrated map and a vector-redrawn map?
A hand-illustrated map, produced in pen and watercolour, is original artwork that captures the visual character and atmosphere of a specific place. A vector-redrawn map uses digital drawing tools to produce a technically accurate but more generic-looking result. For community and tourism applications in Ireland, hand illustration produces a warmer, more distinctive result that reads well at both print and display sizes.
Can the illustrated map be updated each year without redrawing it?
Yes. The recommended approach is to produce the illustrated artwork as a permanent base layer and overlay the annual TidyTowns project legend digitally. This can be managed in Canva by the committee themselves, allowing them to update project references, add new markers, and produce a fresh legend each year without returning to the studio or incurring illustration costs.
What landmarks should be included on a TidyTowns map?
The entry form requires that all streets and roads be named and that key public buildings and landmarks are marked, with a clear legend cross-referencing competition projects. For a long-term illustrated map, focus on stable infrastructure: churches, civic buildings, transport links, parks, lakes, and commercial anchors. Temporary or evolving features are better handled in the editable overlay legend rather than embedded in the base illustration.
What file formats are required for TidyTowns map submission?
The online TidyTowns portal accepts PDF and image uploads, with a file-size limit that high-resolution PDFs can sometimes exceed. An optimised PNG version at submission-appropriate resolution resolves this without any visible loss of quality. A professional design studio will prepare both formats as standard deliverables.
Can the same illustrated map be used for tourism purposes after the TidyTowns submission?
Yes. A commissioned illustrated map is owned by the commissioning organisation and can be used freely across tourism brochures, heritage trail guides, visitor centre displays, event programmes, online publications, and social media. The artwork produced for Claremorris Tidy Towns is a permanent community asset with potential applications well beyond the annual competition.
What does a commissioned illustrated town map typically cost in Ireland?
Costs vary depending on the size of the town, the number of landmarks to be illustrated, the level of detail required, and the production scope. A full town map project of this kind — covering site visit, original pen and watercolour illustration, professional scanning, layout, and print-ready file output — is a significant design commission. Contact Designwest directly for a project-specific quote based on your requirements.
Do illustrated maps work better than digital maps for tourism and community use?
For tourism, heritage, and community engagement applications, illustrated maps consistently outperform standard digital or OS maps in terms of visual appeal and public engagement. They are accessible to all ages, communicate a sense of place rather than just geographic data, and work across both print and digital formats. They are a well-established format in Ireland’s tourism and heritage sector.
How were the landmarks selected for the Claremorris map?
Landmark selection was guided by the need for long-term relevance and the Tidy Towns committee’s operational requirements. Priority was given to civic buildings, transport infrastructure, commercial anchors, schools, parks, and natural features — elements that are permanent or semi-permanent and that adjudicators and visitors would need to locate. Temporary features and evolving projects were excluded from the base illustration and handled separately in the legend overlay.
Can an illustrated map be designed for smaller villages or rural areas, not just larger towns?
Yes. The TidyTowns competition itself covers areas of all sizes — from small villages to large towns — and the map requirement applies to all. For smaller areas, the illustration scope and project cost are typically lower. The principle of producing a permanent illustrated base asset with an updatable legend overlay applies regardless of the size of the settlement.
What is the Canva overlay approach for annual TidyTowns updates?
The Canva overlay method involves uploading the illustrated base map as a background image in Canva and building the project legend, numbered markers, and annual references as editable layers on top. Each year, the committee updates the overlay layer independently — adding new project markers, revising the legend, and exporting a fresh version — without touching the original illustration. This gives community groups full editorial control over their annual submission at minimal ongoing cost.
Is illustrated map design available for communities outside Mayo?
Yes. Designwest is a Mayo-based Irish design studio but works with clients across Ireland, including Dublin and nationally. Illustrated map projects can be commissioned for any town, village, heritage trail, or community area, regardless of location.
What other uses can a Tidy Towns illustrated map be put to?
Beyond the annual competition submission, an illustrated town map has immediate applications in tourism brochures and visitor guides, heritage trail programmes, framed display prints for public buildings and visitor centres, community event programmes, local authority publications, school projects, and online and social media content. It is a reusable, rights-owned asset that continues to generate value for the community long after the competition deadline.
Declan Foley is an Irish Creative Director with over 30 years of experience in graphic design, branding, print, and digital media. As Creative Director of Designwest Creatives Ltd, he leads design projects for Irish businesses, government departments, and organisations nationwide — from brand identity and publication design to large-scale print campaigns. Explore the portfolio at designwest.ie.
