Neenah Paper’s Map of NOLA for AIGA’s 2015 Conference: An illustrated neighborhood guide of the Big Easy.

After the successful completion of the Atlanta maps component for Future Classics, Neenah Paper (the Supporting Sponsor of the event) wanted to partner on a similar map for the city of New Orleans as a promotional piece to hand out at the 2015 AIGA conference. This printed fold-out showcases creative and inspiring restaurants, shops, bars, music halls and parks around five neighborhoods in the city to get conference attendees excited about exploring NOLA during their stay. The back of each map highlights two items with more detail – especially in terms of the conference's theme of "revival." The last feature is a special interview with local artist and designer Alexa Pulitzer on revival in New Orleans beyond just rebuilding; she speaks to the city's creative community experiencing a renaissance.

The map is a five-panel, fold-out, printed communication piece. Each panel also has a perforated edge along the fold, so that users can separate out a single neighborhood into a 5"x7" print or postcard in order to frame or give someone. I chose the neighborhoods that were closest to the conference center, and took small liberties in where to draw the neighborhood divisions and groupings. For each map panel, I polled New Orleans locals and friends, as well as inclusions based on my own travels, and scoured local blogs for other good tips.