News

We know it says so on the front page, Free Shipping in November and December:

But wanted to clarify that you don't need a coupon code, or a Groupon code, or anything like that—free shipping comes automatically with every order! This is a sweet deal, especially since the holidays are coming up fast.

In the background of the image above, you can see our new shipping boxes, which are artful in and of themselves. We designed them ourselves and they make a great gift box, too.

So, order our products with the peace of mind that you won't have to deal with any of those pesky shipping costs. Find our prints in the "Products" drop down menu above, or if you feel like it, head to The Grommet, where I recently had a product launch. I'm still pretty psyched to have my prints available there!

I'm excited to share with you the news that I Lost My Dog launched TODAY on The Grommet. The Grommet is a great site full of interesting things, and I'm proud that my products are included in that category. You might think of a "grommet" in the traditional sense, as a metal ring used to reinforce holes in leather, cloth, shoes, canvas and other fabrics, but in this case, "Grommets are products with a purpose invented by people with stories." Awesome. 

Here's what they wrote about me and I Lost My Dog products:

When you think of your favorite places, you can’t help but smile. The same thing happens when you see locations near and dear to you brought to life in a one of a kind way on typographic maps by graphic designer James McDonald.

In celebration of the unique landmarks and details that make different cities, boroughs, and towns special, James draws every aspect of his maps by hand right down to each individual letter—not a single typeface is used; every word is custom-designed. The result is more than a map. It’s a typographical tribute and work of art. James' background as a graffiti artist in his youth, work as a graphic designer, and his passion for travel are evident in each piece he creates.

James uses high-end paper and ink on an ink-jet plotter in order to transform his hand-drawn creations into gallery-quality giclee prints in sizes that are easy to frame and affordable enough for all to enjoy.

Of course, my products are available on The Grommet, including maps of Brooklyn, Manhattan, Boston, San Francisco, Ireland, and Italy, among others.

The maps are very colorful and full of my signature typography style, and are priced at $39.95. Prints are easy to frame and fit into ready-made frames; they are a great conversation starter in any home. Check out this post to learn more about framing your art after purchase.

I look forward to your business over at The Grommet!

Imagine how excited and happy I was to see my rainbow color Brooklyn Type Map being given to NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly!

Brooklyn City Councilmember Vincent Gentile gave the map—"a poster that colorfully delineated the neighborhoods of Brooklyn"—to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly. It was during a Bay Ridge luncheon honoring the Police Commissioner, held at Third Avenue’s Greenhouse Café, and "was an opportunity for community representatives to thank Kelly for his leadership, and for Kelly to update the group on the NYPD’s evolving crime-fighting techniques."

I think it looks pretty great! Hope you like it, Commissioner Kelly. 

Here's the article, if you're curious. And get the map here.

Photo credit: Home Reporter

I added a few more stores on where you can find some of my type maps. 

Here's an updated list of who, what and where.

MANHATTAN

Harlem Flo (currently in construction merging boutique and florist)

2276 Frederick Douglass Blvd (Eighth Ave)
Harlem
Time out article about them here.

Carries New York City map framed and unframed

51 Avenue A  

New York, NY 10009
212) 228-0145 

Website

BROOKLYN

Shop Exit 9  Cobble Hill

Carries Brooklyn map framed and unframed

127 Smith Street  Brooklyn, NY 11201
(718) 422-7720

  I am proud to announce that we have added a new store to the mix of places where you can buy some of my posters. Welcome SiteNYC in Astoria is the newest location to join Harlem Flo Boutique up on Marcus Garvey Blvd in Harlem and Kline's in Ocean Beach, FIre Island. If your in the neighborhood of these stores go ahead and stop in, they each offer some really great product and I could'nt be in better company.

Was great to be out in Babylon over the weekend to take part in the annual art and craft fair held at Argyle park. We met a lot of cool people, had some laughs and sold some merch too. Though the details of the story witll have to be kept off the internet, the best part was giving Gene, Victor and his wife a lesson in good ol' fashion economics of buying low and selling hi.

Here are a fe other pics.

Future customer checking out a print.

 The Captain just couldnt resist checking us out

I recently made my version of a Brooklyn type map to add to the rest of the print collection. It has been on my list for a while in what my Chinese calender refers to as the year of the type maps. After I made the first 6 or 7 , I figured it was time to tackle the place where I have been living for almost ten years and after finishing I think it's time to give a recap of where I am at with the project as a whole.

I got inspired to a Long Island map after seeing a few others and knowing I could do a better job. The main difference being mine are done in my own hand style and use no fonts at all. Every letter to all of the hoods, countie, states or prefectures was created freehand which takes hours of time drawing on and off the computer. Props due to some to other ones that are out their, especially this one from a girl out in the UK named Ursula Hitz who has done some nice maps including one of London city as well as a cropped section of the 5 boro's very nicely. Here is a shirt by the team over at BK Industries that uses some typefaces, not really feeling that one though. And while I dont care much for the design and use of a single font, I got to give this girl props for building a solid line of maps. Finally the team over at Axis Maps that use type and traditional cartography to make some truly beautiful and accurate maps. I just bought their map of Chicago as a memento to where i recently proposed to my fiance.

So their you have it, a little bit of a reference for different type maps. I hope you'll find mine to be different from the others, at a great price and worth your hard earn $$. I sure enjoy making them and have several more on the radar and  in the works to complete my collection.

The team over at Axis Maps that does a really great job on their maps. I think they have some sort of software that generates these since they offer many different types of mapping services.

Dope London city type map with hand letteing and kerning. Really well done.

Some color options. Still not sure which one I am going with.

The gluttony of hoods downtown and beyond.

After selling out of the first Giclee Print series of these I decided to get into it all over again with a new updates series. This version includes some towns that were left off in the first run. So the people from or whom love Point Lookout, Atlantic Beach, Lido Beach Ceder Beach and West Hempstead should all be really happy. Though they are small, I also added the rest of the beaches and districts of Fire Island as well as the major bridges going down to the South Shore beaches.

This series are lithograph prints on some really good paper, i went with a Lindenmeyr Munroe 80 pound uncoated, acid free and recycled paper. The series is numbered to 500 pieces and I have signed each of these to make them a great art print. They are available in the store now and ship wrapped and tagged with the number of each print on a bookmark inside a protective corrugated tube.

Some Close-Ups

I will be out at Ocean Beach on Fire Island this weekend for the Annual Arts and Craft Show. Looking forward to meeting some people out there and showcasing/selling my work. I have recently designed and printed up the second series of the Long Island Town Type Map and also a Manhattan map. I’m actually picking them both up from the printer in a few hours. Im psyched to head over to The Printhouse and see how the final prints came out. But first I am at the office finishing up a 44 page catalog for the new Zoo York 2012 sunglass line that needs to be printed, perfect bound and in Vegas for Majic by next weekend. Needless to say it has been a hectic week.

I will have three new designs in total: Long Island and Manhattan which will both be signed and numbered and limited to 500 pieces, as well as a Fire Island Map.You can see all the new designs in the store and ready for immediate shipment.

Hope to see you out at in Ocean Beach.