Press Kit: Mike Bell, Music Map Designer

Last updated October 2026.

This press kit is for journalists, museum and archive curators, broadcast researchers, podcast producers, licensing partners, music industry contacts, and anyone else writing about, exhibiting, or commissioning my work. I'm Mike Bell, the designer and researcher behind mikebellmaps.com. For anything not covered here, email me at mike@mikebellmaps.com.

The Short Version

I design deeply researched music discography art prints in the style of a transit map. Each album is a station, placed in release order, and each credited musician is a line, so you can follow who played on what and watch a band's history unfold across one sheet. I cover around 65 bands and solo artists, from The Beatles and David Bowie to Radiohead and Taylor Swift, plus a small collection of film plot maps. My David Bowie map is held by the V&A David Bowie Centre, and my Bruce Springsteen map by the Bruce Springsteen Archives at Monmouth University. I work from East Sussex, and everything is made to order as a Giclée print on archival fine art paper, unframed, framed, or on stretched canvas.

How the Music Maps Work

  • Stations: studio albums arranged in chronological release order.
  • Lines: individual credited band members, session players, and guest musicians.
  • Interchanges: where lines meet, a musician played on more than one album.
  • Branch lines: routes for one-off contributors or guest appearances on a single record.

There's a fuller walkthrough on the How to Read a Music Map page.

Full Press Information

Institutional Holdings

Victoria and Albert Museum, London

My David Bowie discography map is held in the permanent collection at the David Bowie Centre for the Study of Performing Arts, part of the V&A East Storehouse at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London. Full story: the David Bowie discography map at the V&A David Bowie Centre.

Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music

The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University (400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, New Jersey 07764, USA) holds a copy of my Bruce Springsteen discography map in its permanent archive. The Archives team contacted me in November 2020, calling the map "truly amazing". Full story: my Bruce Springsteen discography map at the Bruce Springsteen Archives.

Press Coverage

In June 2026 I was interviewed by The Guardian for its "A new start after 60" series, about being de-diagnosed with Parkinson's and rebuilding my working life around the music and film maps, alongside my freelance 3D show design work.

The Guardian feature on Mike Bell, with his portrait photographed by Peter Flude.

Podcast Interviews

  • Data Malarkey: on the research, the design process, and mashing up band histories with the iconography of the London Underground.
  • Two Parkies in a Pod: on living with, and then without, a Parkinson's diagnosis.

I'm happy to talk on podcasts about data visualisation, music history, discographies, event design, or the de-diagnosis story.

Industry Endorsements

  • "Truly amazing" - The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music, Monmouth University
  • "Brilliant idea" - Billy Bragg
  • "Very cool and smart" - Susan Rogers, producer for Prince
  • "Awesome!!" - Warren Ellis of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
  • "Brilliant series" - Simon Rogers of The Fall
  • "The perfect gift for people who love to show their music knowledge" - Resident Music, Brighton

Full feedback page: music map feedback at mikebellmaps.com. Customer reviews: reviews page.

What I Make

My catalogue covers three map types:

  1. Music discography maps: stations are albums in chronological order, and lines are musicians showing which records they played on. Around 65 artists covered, including The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, The Cure, The Who, Pink Floyd, Kate Bush, Nick Cave, Radiohead, Arctic Monkeys, Taylor Swift, Queen, ABBA, Fleetwood Mac, Nirvana, and many more. Browse the full A to Z, or by scene: Manchester, Punk and Post-Punk, Prog and Classic Rock, and Country.
  2. Single-album maps: stations are tracks in album order, lines are musicians, with the instrument or credit shown for each track they played. The Rolling Stones' Goats Head Soup is currently in development.
  3. Film plot maps: stations are major plot interactions, and lines are characters. Currently Back to the Future, Blade Runner, Dirty Dancing, Jaws, and The Shining, plus the James Bond franchise map, which uses a different structure (films as stations, recurring characters as lines, with the actor identified at each station). See the film plot maps collection.

Methodology

Every map is built from primary sources. I work from album liner notes, studio session documentation, film credits and production archives, musician and producer interviews, and specialist fan-led historical databases. Each station represents a confirmed studio album, film, or defined creative milestone. Each line represents a documented collaboration or character journey. There's no outsourced research team and no automated data scraping. More on this on the Research and Accuracy page.

Production Specifications

  • Museum-quality Giclée printing for fine detail and colour accuracy
  • 230gsm premium fine art paper, textured matte finish, archival and acid-free
  • Sizes: A3, A2, and A1 landscape for the UK and Europe, with 16 x 12 in, 24 x 18 in, and 36 x 24 in equivalents for the US, Canada, and Australia
  • Sold unframed, or framed in handmade solid wood frames with a slim gallery profile, plexiglass glazing, and pre-fitted hangers, ready to hang out of the box
  • Stretched canvas option on a 4cm deep floater frame in white, black, oak, or dark oak, in 70 x 50 cm and 105 x 75 cm
  • Made to order, printed locally to the customer, and shipped worldwide in protective packaging

Full details on the Print and Frame Info page.

Commissions, Licensing, and Wholesale

I take on commissioned work for bands, artist management, record labels, tour promoters, museums, archives, and festivals. A recent example is the Country 2 Country Festival 2025 commission for Countryline Radio; there's a case study here. For commissions and tour merchandise, see the tour merchandise and band map page.

I also offer wholesale rates to museums, galleries, gift shops, and independent retailers. See wholesale art prints, trade rates, and ordering.

Editorial Writing

Long-form pieces I've written about the research and design behind specific maps:

Designer Biography

I started in music, moved into theatre, and then spent two decades in live communications producing and designing conferences, brand events, and shows. I now design them on a freelance basis through freelancevisuals.co.uk, alongside my work on mikebellmaps.com. I live and work in East Sussex. There's a longer version on the About Mike Bell page.

50-word biography

Mike Bell is an East Sussex designer who maps band discographies and film plots in the style of transit maps, with albums as stations and musicians as lines. His David Bowie map is held by the V&A David Bowie Centre, and his Bruce Springsteen map by the Bruce Springsteen Archives.

100-word biography

Mike Bell is a designer and researcher based in East Sussex. Through Mike Bell Maps he produces discography art prints drawn in the style of transit maps: each album is a station, each credited musician is a line, and the interchanges show who played on what. He covers around 65 bands and solo artists, plus a collection of film plot maps. His David Bowie map is held by the V&A David Bowie Centre, and his Bruce Springsteen map by the Bruce Springsteen Archives at Monmouth University. Before the maps, he spent two decades designing live events and shows, work he continues on a freelance basis.

250-word biography

Mike Bell is a designer and researcher based in East Sussex, and the sole creator behind Mike Bell Maps. His discography art prints borrow the visual language of transit maps to tell the history of a band or artist on a single sheet: each studio album is a station placed in release order, each credited musician is a line, and where lines cross, a musician played on more than one record. Branch lines pick up guest players and one-off contributors. The result is a diagram that music fans can read in minutes but keep finding things in for years.

Every map is built from primary sources, including liner notes, session documentation, interviews, and specialist historical databases, with no automated scraping and no outsourced research. The catalogue covers around 65 bands and solo artists, from The Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and David Bowie to Radiohead, Arctic Monkeys, and Taylor Swift, along with film plot maps for titles including Jaws, Blade Runner, and the James Bond series.

His David Bowie map is held in the permanent collection of the V&A David Bowie Centre at V&A East Storehouse, and his Bruce Springsteen map by the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University. Billy Bragg, Susan Rogers, and Warren Ellis are among the musicians who have endorsed the series. Mike was interviewed by The Guardian in 2026 about rebuilding his working life after being de-diagnosed with Parkinson's.

Before the maps, Mike started in music, moved into theatre, and spent two decades producing and designing conferences, brand events, and shows, work he continues as a freelance 3D show designer at freelancevisuals.co.uk. He takes commissions from bands, labels, festivals, museums, and archives.

Available Assets

I can supply on request, usually the same day:

  • High-resolution map images for editorial use
  • Portrait photographs, including the Peter Flude portrait from The Guardian feature (subject to the photographer's terms)
  • The Mike Bell Maps logo
  • Quotes on specific maps, the research process, or design decisions

Contact

For press, museum, archive, licensing, commission, broadcast, and podcast enquiries:

Email: mike@mikebellmaps.com
Studio: East Sussex, UK
Website: mikebellmaps.com