- Grafomap is a website that lets you design custom map posters and T-shirts of any place in the world.
- We went through an easy design process and created posters and a T-shirt of our favorite vacation spots — the finished products are really cool.
- Custom map posters start at $49 without a frame and can go up to $119 for metal frames, while T-shirt prints cost just $35.
- Right now, you can save $15 on everything except T-shirts with the code "AFF15" through November 30.
- Grafomaps makes great gifts, but if you'd like to see even more options, you can read all our gift guides here.
I lived in my previous apartment for six months before I found wall art my partner and I both liked enough to hang in it.
We're picky about what we should hang on our walls. Neither of us wants to decorate our space with Van Gogh reproductions and movie posters. Like a lot of people, we want to decorate it with wall art and photos that mean something to us.
What is Grafomap?
A few years ago, I stumbled across an answer to our problem in the form of a website called Grafomap that lets you design map posters of any place in the world.
You can make one of your hometown, your college town, your favorite travel destination, or the place where you got engaged or married — you're only limited by your imagination.
Once you enter your desired location, Grafomap takes you to its poster editor where you can further customize your location down the exact address or coordinates. After that, you can continue personalizing your map by adjusting, panning, and zooming the map exactly to your liking, adding or removing text, and selecting the finish (paper, framed, or canvas), orientation, and size.
Additionally, Grafomap has 11 unique color themes to choose from (including Noir, Bourbon, Minimal, and Modern) that transform your map from just an ordinary map into a work of art you'll love displaying in your home or wearing in T-shirt form.
Grafomaps also has a partnership with One Tree Planted to plant one tree for every map sold.
How does Grafomap work?
My custom map poster of Sint Maarten took all of five minutes to create, and the finished product is undeniably cool. It's also very affordable. An 18-by-24-inch print sets you back $49.
If you want to get something that's ready to hang right out of the box it's shipped in, you can get an 18-by-24-inch framed print for $104, a print on canvas for $99, a print on metal for $119, or one with a hanger for $69. The T-shirts are the most affordable at $35 each.
I tested the service for free but other colleagues who've bought and created their own maps can attest to the easy design process and cool results.
Learn more about how Grafomap's custom poster editor works below. And try it out for yourself here.
Start by selecting a location for your map poster. I chose Sint Maarten since my partner and I have been vacationing there together for years.
Once you enter your desired location, Grafomap takes you to its poster editor where you can continue personalizing your map by adjusting, panning, and zooming the map to your liking, adding or removing text, and selecting the size, frame, and orientation.
I most enjoyed toggling between color themes. My favorites were Wheatpaste, Modern, and Carbon.
I ultimately went with Modern since I liked its colors and font best.
Here's a picture of the final product:
Here's a look at my colleague Malarie Gokey's map of Stockholm. She chose Wheatpaste as her color theme.
You can also choose to print your map on metal, a canvas, or a T-shirt.
Malarie also tried Grafomaps' T-shirt and Canvas options. The canvas map turned out beautifully and made an excellent birthday gift for her mom. The T-shirt print was well done and looked great, though the cotton wasn't the softest. After several runs through the wash, it's still doing well and has gotten softer over the past year.
Keep Grafomap in mind for a fun and memorable gift for family and friends.
