Smithville is a small Texas town with an outsized creative identity. It is home to Smitty, the world record holding gingerbread man, and the Ann Powell Express train, and has served as a filming location for movies like Hope Floats. The city wanted a custom tourism map system that captured this character while serving practical wayfinding needs for visitors and residents.

The project came together as three coordinated city maps. A full city map covers the main grid and satellite locations for visitors arriving from out of town. A downtown map handles foot traffic and helps people navigate once they are there. An illustrated highlights and commerce map features custom landmark illustrations and doubles as a tourism marketing piece the city can use to attract film crews, visitors, and small business interest. Each map handles a different job, but they share a consistent visual identity so the city’s brand carries across every version.

We delivered every file as a fully layered, editable asset under a CC0 license. The city owns the artwork outright and can print, modify, and republish the maps without coming back to us for permission or paying ongoing licensing fees. We do not believe in gatekeeping creative work, especially for small municipalities and tourism boards investing in their own identity. The maps are built to last, and the city has what it needs to keep them current as Smithville grows.

Custom map design for cities and tourism boards

Cities of every size benefit from a coordinated map system that supports both wayfinding and tourism marketing. Whether you are a small town building out a downtown tourism program or a larger municipality coordinating multiple districts, custom city maps with original landmark illustrations help visitors find their way and give your community a recognizable visual identity. We work with cities, tourism boards, chambers of commerce, and downtown development organizations on map projects ranging from single downtown maps to full city map systems with multiple coordinated versions.

Every project we deliver is yours to keep. Layered files, editable artwork, and CC0 licensing mean your city owns the work without restrictions. If your city, town, or tourism organization needs a custom map system, we would love to help.

Digital Marketing Case Study: the City of Smithville, Texas, Custom City Map Illustration for Tourism

We were excited to work with the City of Smithville, Texas on this project. They needed brochure design, graphic design, interactive map design, KML map data, custom map and illustration and general marketing consultation. Our team collaborated with them on their goals and enjoyed going above and beyond expectations on this project.

Case Study Goals:

In our initial discovery meeting with the City of Smithville, Texas we determined that the primary goals for this project included: applying custom design using inspiration from the client, engaging new partners, incorporating custom icons and illustrations, making it easier for visitors to access information, reaching new clients, serving new and old clients more effectively, and to complete this project within the limits of a set deadline and budget.

Case Study Process and Highlights:

We were excited to work with the City of Smithville, Texas on this project. They needed custom map and illustration work that supported their tourism efforts and reflected the unique character of their town. The custom illustrations gave the client a distinctive visual identity that works across print, web, and marketing materials, with original artwork they own and can use however they need. The custom map system supports both wayfinding and tourism marketing, with coordinated versions for different use cases and custom landmark illustrations that reflect the character of the place. We like to consider ourselves a valuable partner to the City of Smithville, Texas, working together on this project to meet all of their objectives, aligning goals and finding unique solutions to their challenges.

Case Study Results:

We are happy to report this successful project resulted in not only a happy client but also verifiably meeting all the project goals, including these points of accomplishment: were pleased with our fast, responsive customer service, effectively added custom illustrations, found it easier for visitors to access information and enjoyed our unique personal touch and custom sales process. These were precisely the results the City of Smithville, Texas was looking for, and we are committed to remaining a trusted digital partner in support of the City of Smithville, Texas's objectives.

Custom City Map Illustration

Project Sample: Custom city map illustration and tourism marketing design for the City of Smithville, Texas.

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