Your map image is the backdrop; Mapvera adds the interactive layer on top — pins, labels, search, directions and popup cards. Artwork that's designed for that layer, rather than as a finished printed map, is much clearer to use. Here's how to prepare it.
Labels vs pins — don't do both
Mapvera places landmarks as pins on your map, and each pin can show its own name. If you also bake every name into the artwork, you get two labels fighting for the same spot. Decide who owns the names:
Two clean approaches
| Approach | Bake into the image | Add as landmarks |
|---|---|---|
| Interactive-first (recommended) | Just the base map — walls, paths, colour blocks, maybe fixed reference text like level numbers | Every place name, as a landmark pin with a label |
| Labelled artwork | The names, as part of the design | Landmarks with the pin label hidden — the pin just marks the clickable spot |
Leave room for the interactive layer
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Give pins space to breathe
Leave a little clear area over each place a pin will sit, so the marker and its label aren't lost against busy detail.
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Keep the base calm
Flat colour blocks and simple outlines read better under pins than heavy textures, drop shadows or photographic fills.
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Don't pre-draw UI
Skip painting in your own search box, legend, north arrow or zoom buttons — Mapvera provides these, and a drawn copy just gets in the way.
Contrast and legibility
Pins, highlights and the visitor's location dot sit on top of your artwork, so give them something to stand out against. Aim for clear contrast between areas, avoid very busy or very dark backgrounds where a marker could disappear, and keep any text you do bake in large enough to read once the whole map is zoomed to fit.
Whitespace and focus
A little clear space around the edges of the map stops pins near the border from being clipped, and gives popup cards somewhere to open. But trim large empty margins — they shrink the useful part of your map on screen. Aim for a calm, well-framed image with just enough breathing room.
Think about colour and category
If you plan to group landmarks into categories with their own colours, keep the base artwork relatively neutral so those category colours read clearly. A rainbow background makes coloured pins and highlights much harder to tell apart.