Valencia District Maps
Self-initiated project | 2019-present | Adobe Illustrator
This is my ongoing project to design maps for each district within the city of Valencia, Spain, my adopted home city. Their style is inspired by graphic design of the art deco period and utilises a bold colour scheme and period-style typefaces. Each map features a simple decoration scheme with notable landmarks pinpointed with numbered circles on the map and listed alphanumerically to one side.
Prints of these designs are available from https://shop.thisismikehall.com/collections/distritos-de-valencia
My map of Ciutat Vella, the historic centre of the city, displays the courses of the ancient city walls of the Roman and medieval periods.
A detail of the title box that appears on each map. The name of the district appears in a bold, art deco-style typeface and is decorated with my own version of the city's coat of arms: a diamond-shaped shield flanked by two capital Ls (standing for 'loyalty'), supported by two laurel branches and topped with a crown and a bat.
A close-up detail of the historic centre of the city, including the Cathedral and the Plazas de la Reina and La Virgen.
Algiròs, a district in the outer north-eastern part of the city that is dominated by the campuses of the University of Valencia and the Polytechnic University.
Benimaclet, a district in the north-eastern part of the city, one of several former towns and villages that surrounded the old city that were swallowed up by rapid 20th-century development.
Camins al Grau, a district in the eastern part of the city between the old centre and the seafront.
Campanar, a large district on the western edge of the city, largely developed in the latter part of the 20th century and half of which is still open farmland or huerta.
El Pla del Real, a small district to the east of the city centre, which includes the main campus of the University of Valencia and the Mestalla football stadium.
Extramurs, a district in the inner western part of the city that includes the Botanical Gardens and Joaquín Sorolla Station, the high speed rail terminus.
L'Eixample or El Ensanche, a district in the inner south-western part of the city that includes the main railway station, the fashionable neighbourhoods of Russafa (or Ruzafa) and Cánovas, and the brand new Parque Central.
La Saïdia or La Zaidía, a district in the inner northern part of the city that includes the extensive Viveros gardens and the Museum of Fine Arts.
Poblats Maritims, a district of the outer eastern edge of the city facing the Mediterranean Sea. In this district are the Marina Real (the base for the 2007 America's Cup and around which the former Grand Prix circuit ran), the principal beaches of the city, and the maritime neighbourhoods of El Cabanyal-Canyamelar and La Malvarrosa.
