The Fishtown Map
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Hello Modern World
High Color, Isometric, Ultra Crisp, Pixel Art
The Amyrlin Publishing House is proud to announce the high color, isometric, pixel art map of Fishtown. Prints will begin shipping November 14th. Prints are available while stocks last.
The map is centered around East Girard and Frankford Street. 40 Fishtown shops and institutions are illustrated, as well as many of the cultural factions that exist in the neighborhood. Including Eagles and Phillies Fans, Punks, Hippies, Yuppies, Clowns, Witches, Black cats, Mermaids and more. All in vivid color and remarkable detail.
First Impressions:
Fishtown today is experiencing a wave of development. New apartment complexes and modern housing units are springing up everywhere. Girard Station, the main access point to Fishtown, is being cleaned and renovated, and the Fishtown BID has plans to develop the nearby corridor into a commercial space for small vendors. These additions and many others are building up Fishtown to become an iconic east coast neighborhood. But infrastructure development is only a first step. To directly attract patrons and fresh ideas, we felt the community needed a dedicated publishing house. A small press that could present Fishtown as an attractive neighborhood worth exploring.
The Amyrlin Publishing House (colloquialized as Amyr Press) was formed with that central goal. Our first objective was to create a visual representation of the neighborhood.
An illustration that would capture the array of shops and landmarks in Fishtown, and present them in a familiar style.
A Style Universally Recognized
Pixel art is distinguished by its use of tiny squares or pixels, to create complex forms and shapes. Pixel art compositions take on a blocky, crispy, energetic look and feel.
The style emerged in the 80s when virtually every video game, both on arcade machine and consoles were created using the style. Classic titles like Mega Man, Street Fighter, Super Metroid, Super Mario World, The Legend of Zelda, and Pokemon Red and Blue, were all created using pixel art. The use of pixel art in this era was so prolific that it has since become a universally recognized art style and one intimately tied to video game culture. More recent Titles like Super Meat Boy, Fez, Hyperlight Drifter, Stardew Valley, and Spelunky, have expanded the style, using pixel art to express greater detail and higher concepts.
We chose this style for the Fishtown map, because of it’s innate aesthetic value and it’s connection to a large community of people. The high color, isometry, and ultra crispness of pixel art and pixoramas, lend their subjects a bright and energetic feel. The style is also deeply associated with a beloved medium. Gamers across the world recognize pixel art as the video game style, and for those who remember the begining of gaming culture, pixel art has a nostalgic quality. The style takes people back to childhood memories, catching fire flowers, hatching Yoshi in new colors, flying up towards hidden levels.
Our hope is that this intimacy stretches beyond the art style and produces similar affection for Fishtown.
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contact us at fishtown-amyr.com 
Est Girard & Frankford
2024 Edition:
• Size: Large Print ( 28 x 40’’ )
• Paper: Affichen 115 g/m2 High Gloss
• Print: CMYK offset
• Contains: Fishcans, Lutheran Women’s Mural, Fishermen, Angels, Medicine.
