Evolving a Signature Guest Experience with the Camp Lucy Illustrated Map

When guests arrive at Camp Lucy, the experience doesn’t begin at check-in — it begins the moment they start exploring the property.

Set in the Texas Hill Country, Camp Lucy is a thoughtfully designed destination with multiple venues, accommodations, and gathering spaces spread across the landscape. The challenge wasn’t simply helping guests find their way — it was creating a map that felt like Camp Lucy: welcoming, refined, and rooted in place.

This illustrated map was designed to function as both a practical orientation tool and a keepsake-quality piece of storytelling, reinforcing the brand experience long after a guest’s stay.

Project Goals

The goal wasn’t to create a traditional wayfinding map. Instead, the map needed to:

• Help guests easily understand the layout of a multi-venue property

• Reflect Camp Lucy’s elevated, rustic-luxury brand personality

• Feel personal, warm, and hand-crafted — not corporate or generic

• Work across multiple formats: print, digital, and guest materials

From the start, the emphasis was on experience over efficiency — clarity paired with character.

Design Approach: Illustration as Experience Design

Rather than relying on strict scale or schematic geometry, the map uses illustration as a storytelling device.

Landmarks, venues, and pathways are rendered with intentional charm — slightly whimsical, but grounded enough to remain intuitive. The goal was to give guests a sense of place, not just directions.

Key design considerations included:

• Hierarchy through illustration
  Primary destinations are emphasized visually, helping guests quickly orient themselves without needing heavy labeling.

• Human-centered detail
  Architectural elements, landscaping, and terrain were illustrated to feel approachable and lived-in — mirroring the guest experience on the property.

• Brand-aligned restraint
  While illustrated, the map avoids excess ornamentation. The color palette, line weight, and composition were all carefully tuned to feel calm, premium, and timeless.

The Process: From Concept to Final Map

The map evolved through a collaborative, iterative process that balanced artistic exploration with real-world usability.

1. Discovery & Context
   Understanding how guests move through the property — arrivals, ceremonies, lodging, dining, and downtime — helped shape how locations were prioritized visually.

2. Early Sketching & Layout Exploration
   Initial concepts focused on overall flow and spatial relationships rather than detail. This stage ensured the map would feel intuitive before committing to final illustration.

3. Refinement & Detail Development
   As the structure locked in, architectural and environmental details were layered in to add warmth and personality without sacrificing clarity.

4. Final Polish & Production Readiness
   The finished illustration was prepared for both print and digital use, ensuring flexibility across guest materials and marketing touchpoints.

Why Illustrated Maps Work Especially Well for Hospitality

Illustrated maps do something traditional maps often can’t — they extend the emotional experience of a place.

For hospitality brands like Camp Lucy, they:

• Reinforce brand identity in a tactile, memorable way

• Help guests feel oriented without feeling overwhelmed

• Serve as souvenirs guests often keep or photograph

• Add value across marketing, signage, and guest communications

In short, they turn wayfinding into storytelling.

The Result

The final map is now part of Camp Lucy’s broader guest experience — helping visitors navigate the property while reinforcing the sense of escape, care, and intention that defines the brand.

It’s functional, yes — but more importantly, it feels like Camp Lucy.

Extending the Map Into a Guest Touchpoint

In addition to the full illustrated map, I also designed a printed trifold brochure that is handed to guests at check-in.

Rather than reproducing the entire map at a reduced scale, the brochure highlights individual landmarks and key destinations across the property — allowing guests to quickly familiarize themselves with notable locations without feeling overwhelmed.

Each panel focuses on a curated selection of spaces, pairing illustration with clear labeling to support orientation while maintaining the warmth and charm of the hand-drawn style.

This format serves a few important purposes:

• Provides guests with a portable, easy-to-reference guide during their stay

• Reinforces Camp Lucy’s brand through illustration at a tactile, personal moment — arrival

• Allows specific venues (ceremony sites, lodging, dining, amenities) to shine individually

• Bridges the gap between wayfinding and keepsake

The trifold format also ensured the piece worked seamlessly at the front desk — easy to distribute, easy to use, and easy to keep.

Looking Ahead

Illustrated maps like this aren’t limited to resorts. They’re especially effective for:

• Hotels & hospitality properties

• Event venues & wedding destinations

• Campuses, parks, and cultural sites

• Destination marketing organizations

Any place where experience matters as much as navigation can benefit from illustration-driven storytelling.

If you’re interested in creating a custom illustrated map or experiential graphic for your property or destination, I’d love to talk.

Copyright & Usage

This artwork is protected by copyright. The illustrations shown here were created exclusively for Camp Lucy and are not available for separate purchase or use as stock imagery.

Unauthorized use, reproduction, redistribution, or modification of this work is not permitted. Licensing inquiries are welcomed for custom illustration projects and commissions.

Interested in a custom illustrated map for your property or destination?

Let’s talk about how illustration can support your guest experience.