MapLab: The Power of Minimalist Maps

Seven years ago, Peter Gorman decided to embark on a year-long bike trip across the US and Canada. As he stayed in other people’s homes, he would notice maps on some of his hosts’ walls. This stuck with him — he took notes of the artists he discovered and, once back from his trip, started making maps himself. He ended up posting them online under the name “barelymaps.”

Gorman’s maps have a recognizable minimalist style, as the name “barelymaps” would suggest, giving an artistic take on geography by playing with shapes and colors to highlight what’s most unique and memorable about a place.