Different Maps Wall Art by Przemyslaw Koczkodaj is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2021 A' Design Award in Fine Arts and Art Installation Design Competition Category.
IronFine Art· 2021
Different Maps Wall Art
Client: DifferentMaps
A' Design Award Winner in Fine Art Category
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #118659The Design
About Different Maps Wall Art
The design is a 3D map, created with the use of laser-cut wood for the streets and the infrastructure, and epoxy resin for the water reservoirs. The map can show any place on Earth, to remind you of a special time or place in your life. It is made with the use of modern technology, and is meant to combine the ancient art of carpentry with the new possibilities of laser accuracy.
The Recognition
About the A' Design Award
Different Maps Wall Art is an Iron A' Design Award winner, a prestigious recognition granted to good designs that meet the professional and industrial requirements expected from well-designed creations. Iron winners demonstrate great skill, high specialization, expert understanding, and creative capacity of their creators. Different Maps Wall Art is expected to be a highly regarded, admired, and cherished creation that is practical and innovative. This Iron A' Design Award-winning design integrates industry best practices and has competent technical characteristics linked with know-how and talent. Different Maps Wall Art is respected for its thoroughness and is designed to provide quality of life improvements that help make the world a better place.
Interviews
Grand Interview
Your innovative fusion of laser-cut wood and epoxy resin in Different Maps Wall Art beautifully bridges traditional craftsmanship with modern technology - could you walk us through the creative journey that led to this unique combination of materials?
Our journey began with a love for traditional craftsmanship and a fascination for natural textures. Wood offered warmth and authenticity, while epoxy resin allowed us to highlight delicate details like rivers, lakes, and coastlines in a striking way. By experimenting with both, we discovered a dialogue between classic material and modern technique, creating maps that feel timeless yet innovative. This fusion was not accidental—it was the result of many trials, failures, and refinements, until we reached a balance where each material enhanced the other.
The inspiration behind Different Maps Wall Art stems from your desire to celebrate smaller, personally meaningful locations rather than famous cities - how has this focus on intimate, lesser-known places shaped the emotional connection users have with your artwork?
Focusing on intimate, lesser-known places has been central to the emotional power of our artwork. While global capitals are celebrated everywhere, people often hold the deepest memories in smaller towns, villages, or even a single street. By honoring these locations, we allow individuals to see their personal stories reflected in art. Customers tell us that our maps spark conversations about childhood, family, and milestones that shaped them. This connection transforms our wall art from decoration into a keepsake—something that preserves memory and meaning in a very personal way.
The development of Different Maps Wall Art took two years to perfect - what were the most challenging technical obstacles you encountered when combining wood and resin, and how did overcoming these challenges influence the final design?
The two-year development period was filled with technical challenges that taught us patience and persistence. One of the biggest obstacles was achieving perfect harmony between wood and resin, as both materials react differently to temperature, humidity, and time. Wood naturally expands and contracts, while resin requires precise curing to avoid bubbles, cracks, or uneven surfaces. Finding a balance between them demanded countless experiments, adjustments in cutting depth, and careful layering of resin to highlight waterways without warping the wood base. Overcoming these difficulties not only refined our craftsmanship but also shaped the final aesthetic—clean lines, smooth textures, and a sense of natural flow that make the maps both durable and visually striking.
Behind the Design
Press Kit
Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.
- Unique Properties
- The map is a 3D image of any place on Earth. The materials combine wood and epoxy resin, perfectly imitating the locations infrastructure. The layering of the wood and the deep, multi-tone resin give it a sense of depth. The use of real wood and resin makes every map unique, as they have slightly different shades and patterns.
- Dimensions & Packaging
- 530 mm x 530 mm x 35 mm
- Tags
- maps, wood, resin, wall art, city
- Production Technology
- The designers used the combination of modern technology and traditional carpentry. The individual street layers are laser-cut from plywood, but it is the manual grinding that gives it a perfect finish. The epoxy resin is poured in a special way and enhances the 3D effect.
- Design Challenge
- The biggest challenge appeared in the process of creating the final piece was to combine the wood and the resin. It took many attempts to eliminate the bleeding of the resin into the wood and to get the final effect of a clean background with the saturated resin reservoirs. Obtaining a smooth, undisturbed surface of the resin was not easy either. It was only after removing numerous factors and hitting the right kind of resin that the designers arrived at the intended result.
- Research
- The creative duet have drawn from many different experiences in creating this project. While she is more of an artist, he knows a lot about modern technologies. And although the design is mainly craft, the key element in making it is the use of new technologies like lasers, printers, and computers. The maps are then aesthetically pleasant and universal, but at the same time made in high quality. Since wood has its own structure, and the resin flows in different patterns, the map has a unique shade and pattern. It reminds you of one special time or place in your life, and is also one of its kind in form.
- Inspiration
- The authors are a married couple who both come from small cities in Poland and appreciate good art. To their disappointment, they found that it was close to impossible to get a good, original map of their towns. It is usually big cities like Rome, New York or Tokyo that are depicted on various forms of design. So they had an idea: what if it was possible to get your own, even tiniest spot on Earth shown on a map of good quality and design? In the end, not everyone falls in love in Paris, and every little place may want to be remembered.
- Project Duration
- The development of the project took 2 years. It started in 2018 and ended in 2020.
- Operation Flow
- This piece of art is designed to be part of our closest environment, so that when we look at it we are reminded of our favourite places or moments. It can go in your home, office, hotel, or anywhere else.
- Team Members
- Designer: Przemysław Koczkodaj
Designer: Anna Koczkodaj
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