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.
Shitty Maps discussion play improvementA 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.
The problem with fancy maps
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 thing looks solid, even if the ideas inside aren't.
You can start right now
Six simple shapes is all it takes
1. Start before you're ready Put something down.
Whatever you think you know.
Then you build from that.
Waiting defeats the purpose.
2. Don't clean it up Refine your understanding, not the aesthetics.
Make sure it's right before you make it look good.
3. Stop when you stall Don't force completion.
When you encounter resistance, it's a sign to step back and learn from what you've done.
Practice making shitty maps of stuff that doesn't matter,
so you're confident when it does matter.
Solo Sense Making
You are mapping for yourself. There is no audience. You are trying to understand something — for your own clarity, your own thinking, your own use.
Collaborative Sense Making
You and another person are building understanding together. Neither of you has the full picture. The map emerges from the conversation between you.
Sharing Made Sense
You already understand this. Now you're helping someone else get it. You are the one with clarity, and you're translating it for your audience.
The Newcomer
Someone brand new to this world. They don't have your context, vocabulary, or assumptions. Think of a new hire encountering this domain for the first time.
The Child
A literal child, or someone with no frame of reference. They are curious, direct, and will ask "why" five times in a row.
The Authority
Someone with formal power over you. They control resources, make decisions, and shape your trajectory. Think of a boss or someone whose approval you need.
your morning commute
A daily process, familiar but rarely examined. Everything between waking up and arriving — what's actually happening in there?
the way you handle feedback
When someone responds to your work, what actually unfolds? What's the internal pattern you've never quite put into words?
your relationship with failure
Abstract, personal, and revealing. What does failure actually mean to you — and what does the answer say about how you move through the world?
Sign up for emails that will make you braver, messier, and somehow…smarter.
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 meaningful work 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.
