Your maps should be shitty.

Not because you don’t care—but because you care more about what they do than how they look.

Because maps don’t have to look good to be good.

Shitty Maps are Helpful.

A shitty map is a quick, imperfect visual expression of an idea that invites discussion, play, and improvement.

It sheds the pretense of polish because there’s nothing to hide; it’s an honest, earnest communication, created to build alignment and move ideas forward.

Make Your Maps SHITTY

S – Starts

A Shitty Map is a map that begins to be made before things are figured out. It shows thinking in motion.

H – Humble

A Shitty Map doesn’t pretend to have all the answers. It does what it needs to and leaves space for other and better ideas.

I – Inviting

A Shitty Map welcomes marks from others. The best maps are drawn together.

T – Transparent

A Shitty Map shows the raw work. It lets people see the thinking, the gaps, and the possibilities.

T – Testing

A Shitty Map forces ideas to be held loosely. Nothing is locked in. Everything is up for discussion.

Y – Yielding

A Shitty Map bends, shifts, and grows as needed. It is accommodating to new developments.

Why Fancy Maps Don’t Work

They take too long to make.

All that time, and in the end, do you know if it’ll even be useful? or right?

They’re made to tell, not to think

They present answers when what we really need is a way to figure things out together.

They hijack your attention.

The design draws your eye to what’s shiny — not necessarily to what matters.

They feel too polished to touch.

When something looks final, no one wants to question it — even when they should.

They look smarter than they are.

The design says “trust me,” even when the thinking hasn’t been tested.

They create false certainty.

The things looks solid, even if the ideas inside aren’t.

    Shitty Map Gallery

    Check out the work of real Certified Shitty Mappers who are getting shit done.

    • Five minutes with this shitty sketch beat five days of Figma, Slack, and frustration. This map didn’t care about polish—it cared about clarity. By stripping away the UI noise, it finally made the abstract concrete. Concepts clicked. The conversation changed. And the work moved forward.

    • Whiteboard sketch of a shitty map.

      This shitty map helped outline how a process would be augmented with generative AI. This shitty map was a means to an end. We needed to align around how we would work and what inputs would be involved so that we could scale our ability.

    Share a Shitty Map

    Every time someone sees a shitty map that worked, another person gains the confidence to prioritize progress over polish. Your messy lines might be exactly what someone else needs to see to make their first shitty map.

    Submission FAQs

    What qualifies as a Shitty Map?
    • Maps that worked BECAUSE they were shitty, not despite being shitty.
    • Real examples from real situations (no retrospective creations, stop trying so hard).
    • Stories of how the map’s shittiness enabled better outcomes.
    What maps shouldn’t I submit?
    • Maps you don’t have permission to share.
    • Maps you made shitty on purpose for this submission
    • Pretty maps you’re apologizing for
    • Maps without a story of impact
    • Maps that weren’t really used
    • Cleaned up versions of originally Shitty Maps
    Are there technical requirements?
    • Clear photo/scan of the original Shitty Map
    • Minimum 400px wide image
    • Keep any identifying information blurred/redacted
    • Maximum 100 words for the description
    • Must be your own work that you have rights to share
    What will you do with my map?

    By sharing a map, you give ShittyMaps.com permission to display the map and the description on this website, and use it for marketing purposes outside of this website.

    What if I want to remove my map?

    If you ever want your shitty map removed, just email me at joe@shittymaps.com and I will de-list and delete your map.




      Add my Shitty Map to the Public Gallery

      Become a Certified Shitty Mapper

      Join an elite society of people who know that messy maps are mighty maps.

        Apply to be a Certified Shitty Mapper



        Agree to the principles of Shitty Maps

        I will begin mapping before I feel fully ready or know all the answers.
        I will prioritize making maps that are helpful, even if they look messy or unpolished.
        I will revise and improve my maps over time, without waiting for perfection.
        I will trust that messy first drafts are a necessary part of making meaningful maps.
        I will create maps that communicate ideas clearly—even if the map itself looks rough.
        I will recognize when a map is helpful enough to share, and resist endless tinkering.

        Do you want to be listed in the Certified Shitty Mappers Directory?

        About Shitty Maps

        I was making shitty maps before they were cool. Mostly because I am both a mediocre designer and someone who relies on visualizations to communicate my thoughts.

        Recently I found myself frustrated that the majority of the stuff I’ve made as a consultant—helping others make sense of their products and visions—looks kinda shitty. It doesn’t look like someone valuable, despite being extremely valuable when used to help someone see something they couldn’t see before. Not only that, I have found that really good-looking visuals are often worse at helping people get work done than really shitty-looking ones.

        Shitty Maps is about coming together as practitioners who aren’t afraid to be vulnerable with our thoughts, invite collaboration, expose the work of the messy middle, and get shit done. Let’s be proud of our Shitty Maps and their ability to be a means to an end. Let’s give each other the permission we didn’t ask for, but desperately need to make things be good, not just look good.

        If you need someone to talk to your team about Shitty Maps or want help building a Shitty Mapping capability within your organization, please reach out—joe@shittymaps.com.