So you've been playing around with our interactive map and thinking—"this would look amazing on my wall." That's exactly why we built Artistic Mode. It takes your city map and transforms it into a poster you'd actually want to frame and hang up.
What is Artistic Mode?
Here's the thing: the interactive map is great for exploring, but it's not optimized for printing. Artistic Mode is our poster-generation feature that turns your map into print-ready art using one of 17 carefully designed color themes.
When I say "carefully designed," I mean it—we spent weeks testing different color combinations and getting feedback from over 300 people before settling on these themes. (The Neon Cyberpunk theme nearly didn't make the cut, but our beta testers absolutely loved it, so here we are.)
What You Get
- 17 Curated Themes: Everything from classic Noir to that surprisingly-popular Neon Cyberpunk
- Print-Ready Quality: 300 DPI, because nobody wants a pixelated poster
- Standard Size: 16x20 inches (40x50 cm)—yes, that's a standard frame size for a reason
- High-Resolution PNG: Sharp enough to see individual street details
How to Access Artistic Mode
Once you've got your city loaded on the map, you'll see a button labeled "🎨 Artistic Poster" in the controls on the left. Click it, and the theme panel will pop up. That's it—no hidden menus or complicated navigation.
Choosing Your Theme
This is where it gets fun. You'll see a grid of 17 theme cards, each showing you exactly what colors you'll get. Let me walk you through the most popular ones:
Noir (Classic Black & White)
Timeless. Clean. Works with literally any decor style. If you're the type who can't decide on colors, just go with Noir—you can't go wrong. I've got one above my desk right now.
Blueprint
Deep blue background with cyan roads. It looks like an architect's drawing, which is perfect if you're into that aesthetic. We've had a lot of architecture and engineering students go for this one.
Sunset
Warm oranges and reds. This theme adds energy to a room—maybe not the best choice for a bedroom unless you want to feel alert all the time, but it's brilliant in living rooms and creative spaces.
Neon Cyberpunk
Electric magenta on dark background. Look, this one's divisive. You'll either love it or hate it. But if you're going for a bold, futuristic vibe? This is hands-down the most eye-catching theme we've got.
Japanese Ink
Light background, dark roads, inspired by traditional Japanese ink paintings. It's sophisticated and calming—perfect if minimalism is your thing but you find pure black-and-white a bit too stark.
Picking Your Theme
Browse the grid, click on a theme card to select it (you'll see a checkmark), and feel free to switch as many times as you want before hitting Generate. There's no limit to how much you can experiment.
Generating Your Poster
Once you've picked a theme, hit the "🚀 Generate" button. You'll see a progress bar—don't panic if it stalls at 20% for a bit.That's normal. The system's pulling road data from OpenStreetMap and processing it all in your browser.
Most posters take 30-60 seconds to generate. Tokyo and New York tend to take longer (all those streets!), while smaller cities are usually faster.
Tips I Wish Someone Had Told Me
Get the Zoom Level Right
This is probably the most common mistake: people zoom out too far trying to fit the entire city, and the poster ends up looking like an abstract blob. Instead, zoom in enough that you can see individual streets. The street patterns are what make these posters interesting.
Pro tip: if you're doing London, zoom in on either Central London with the Thames curve, or pick a specific neighborhood like Notting Hill. Don't try to show all of Greater London—it won't look good.
Theme Selection Actually Matters
I know I said you can't go wrong with Noir, but honestly, think about your wall color first. If you have dark walls, a dark theme like Neon Cyberpunk will just disappear. Light themes pop beautifully on dark walls.
And here's something we learned from user feedback: bright themes (Sunset, Terracotta) work amazingly in dimly-lit rooms because they add visual warmth. But in a bright room with lots of natural light, they can feel overwhelming. Blueprint and Noir are safer bets for sunny spaces.
Framing Makes a Huge Difference
We designed these at 16x20 inches specifically because that's a standard frame size. You can find frames everywhere—IKEA, Amazon, your local art supply store. Don't overthink this part.
That said, adding a mat board really does elevate it. If you're spending money on professional printing, spend the extra £10-15 on matting. It's worth it.
Printing Your Poster
You've got three main options:
1. At Home
Honestly? Unless you have a really good printer and high-quality photo paper, I wouldn't recommend this. Home printers rarely do these justice, and you'll end up frustrated with the colors.
2. Local Print Shop
This is my go-to. Take your PNG file to a local print shop, ask for 300 DPI printing on premium paper. Most places charge around £15-25 for a 16x20 print. You can see samples, ask questions, and you get it done same-day or next-day.
3. Online Services
Services like Printful or Vistaprint work well if you're ordering multiple prints or want pre-framed options. Slightly more expensive, but convenient if you don't have a local shop nearby.
Troubleshooting
It's Been 2 Minutes and Nothing's Happening
First, check your internet connection. The system needs to download map data, so if your connection drops, it'll hang.
If your connection is fine and it's still stuck, refresh the page and try again. Sometimes browsers just hiccup. If it keeps happening with a specific city, it might be too large—try zooming in to a smaller area.
The Result Looks... Meh
90% of the time, this is a zoom level issue. Try zooming in more to capture interesting street patterns rather than showing the whole city.
The other 10%? You picked a theme that doesn't work with your city. Cities with lots of green space (like London with its parks) look better with contrasting themes. Dense cities like Manhattan look incredible in almost any theme.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change the size to something other than 16x20?
Not directly from the generator, but the PNG is high-res enough that print shops can scale it up or down without losing quality. We've had people print these as small as 8x10 and as large as 24x30. Just know that non-standard sizes mean more expensive custom frames.
Can I customize the colors beyond the 17 themes?
The themes are locked in because they're designed to work well together. That said, if you're comfortable with photo editing software, you can download the PNG and adjust colors yourself. Just be warned—it's easy to make it look worse rather than better.
How many can I generate?
As many as you want. Seriously. We've had someone generate 47 different city/theme combinations (they were making a massive gallery wall, apparently). Go wild.
"I spent 20 minutes trying different themes for my hometown. Ended up going with Japanese Ink and it looks absolutely beautiful framed in my office." — Emma, Manchester
Ready to Create?
Load your city, hit that Artistic Poster button, pick a theme, and generate. It really is that straightforward. And if you're not happy with the first result, just try a different theme or adjust your zoom. That's the beauty of it—you can experiment until you get exactly what you want.