Choose one meaningful event, enter the exact date connected to it, use the location where it happened, and keep the message short enough to support the design rather than explain the entire story. For NovaMap™ — Star Map Lamp, the date and location create the foundation of the personalised star map, while names, an optional time and a short message complete the composition. AtaNova prepares the layout in our Antwerp atelier and sends a Design Proof by email before engraving.
The strongest NovaMap™ personalisation is specific and easy to verify. One date, one place and one clear line usually create a more recognisable keepsake than several memories competing on the same panel.
What Information Do You Need for NovaMap™?
Prepare the following details before ordering:
- Date: the day connected to the chosen moment.
- Location: the city, venue, hospital, home town or other meaningful place where it happened.
- Names: written exactly as they should be engraved.
- Time: optional and best included only when it is known and relevant.
- Short message: optional wording that adds meaning without overcrowding the layout.
NovaMap™ is designed around a date-and-location memory. If a photograph is the main part of the story, a photo-based personalised lamp may be a better format. The Personalised Lamps collection shows the available AtaNova lamp types.
How to Choose the Right Date
Choose the date that identifies the moment the recipient will recognise immediately. This may be a first meeting, proposal, wedding, birth, move, journey or another event whose meaning depends on when and where it happened.
Use the Event Date, Not the Gift-Giving Date
The date on the lamp should normally be the date of the memory itself, not the birthday, anniversary or holiday on which the gift will be presented. A wedding gift can show the wedding date. An anniversary gift can preserve the first meeting, proposal or wedding date. A housewarming gift can mark the move-in date rather than the date of the party.
Choose One Moment When Several Dates Matter
When a relationship includes several important milestones, select the date that best explains the story without extra context. Ask which moment the recipient would name first: when you met, when you said yes, when you married or when a child was born. The clearest answer is usually the strongest NovaMap™ date.
Confirm the Date Before Submitting It
Check old messages, invitations, photographs, booking confirmations or official records when accuracy matters. Pay special attention to events close to midnight, because the calendar date may not be the one remembered casually. Enter the day, month and year carefully, then check them again in the Design Proof.
Do You Need to Add the Exact Time?
Time is an optional NovaMap™ input. Add it when the exact hour is known and forms part of the memory, such as a birth time or a precisely recorded event. Leave it out when it is uncertain or adds no useful meaning to the finished design.
Do not guess an exact time simply to fill the field. A correct date and location are stronger than a precise-looking detail that may be wrong.
How to Choose the Right Location
Use the place directly connected to the chosen event. The best wording is specific enough to identify the memory but concise enough to remain clear on the engraved acrylic panel.
Choose a City for a Clean, Recognisable Location
A city is the safest choice when it identifies the event clearly: Antwerp, Paris, Amsterdam or another place the recipient immediately connects with the date. City wording is concise and usually fits the composition naturally.
Choose a Venue When the Place Is Part of the Story
Use a wedding venue, restaurant, hospital, beach, hotel or other named place when that location carries more meaning than the city alone. Keep the wording recognisable and remove unnecessary business descriptions or address details.
Use a Full Address Only When the Address Itself Matters
A full street address is usually longer than needed. It can be appropriate for a first home, family house or another memory where the exact address is central to the story. Otherwise, a city or venue normally creates a cleaner result.
Match the Location to the Date
The date and location should describe the same event. Do not combine the proposal date with the wedding venue or a birth date with the family’s current city unless that is intentionally the story you want the lamp to tell.
How to Write the Names
Enter names exactly as they should appear in the finished engraving. Check spelling, capital letters, accents, hyphens, apostrophes and the order of the names.
- Use the form of the name the recipient actually uses.
- Keep accents and special characters when they belong to the correct spelling.
- Decide whether the design should show first names, a family name or no names at all.
- Avoid adding several names unless they are all essential to the same memory.
Names are supporting information. The date and location should remain the central connection when NovaMap™ is chosen specifically as a personalised star map lamp.
How to Choose the Right Message
A NovaMap™ message works best when it adds one layer of meaning that the date, place and names do not already communicate. One short line is usually strongest; two short lines can work when the wording remains simple.
Use a Message That Identifies the Meaning
Good wording points to the relationship or turning point without retelling it. Examples include:
- The night our story began
- Under this sky, we said yes
- Where our next chapter started
- The moment everything changed
- Our place, our date, our story
Do Not Repeat Every Detail
If the names, date and location are already displayed, the message does not need to repeat them. Use the line to express what the moment means, not to list the same information a second time.
Avoid Long Quotes and Full Explanations
NovaMap™ measures approximately 14.5 cm wide × 22 cm high, with a clear acrylic panel set in a solid wood LED base. Long text must become smaller to fit the composition and can compete with the engraved star map. Keep the explanation for a card and let the lamp carry the essential line.
Leaving the Message Blank Is a Valid Choice
A message is optional. The date, location and names can create a complete personalised design without an additional phrase. When no sentence improves the meaning, a cleaner layout is better than filler text.
Personalisation Examples by Occasion
First Meeting or First Date
- Date: the day you met or had the first date.
- Location: the city, café, restaurant or place where it happened.
- Message: The night our story began.
Proposal or Wedding
- Date: the proposal or wedding date, depending on which memory the gift is built around.
- Location: the proposal place or wedding venue.
- Message: Under this sky, we said yes.
Birth of a Child
- Date: the child’s birth date.
- Location: the hospital, city or place of birth.
- Message: The moment everything changed.
First Home or Meaningful Move
- Date: the move-in date or the day the new chapter began.
- Location: the city, neighbourhood or address when the address itself matters.
- Message: Where our next chapter started.
What to Check in the Design Proof
AtaNova sends a digital Design Proof by email before engraving. Use it as the final factual and visual check, not as a quick formality. Review:
- Date: correct day, month, year and displayed format.
- Time: correct hour and notation when included.
- Location: correct spelling and the intended level of detail.
- Names: spelling, accents, punctuation and order.
- Message: exact wording, line breaks and punctuation.
- Overall balance: whether the text supports the star map without making the composition crowded.
Reply to the proof email when a small correction is needed. Engraving begins after approval, and personalised details cannot be changed on the finished acrylic panel. The customer-facing delivery promise is 3–5 business days from the order date.
For a broader explanation of ordering and approval, visit How It Works.
When the Standard NovaMap™ Layout Is Not Enough
The standard NovaMap™ format is built around one chosen date and one location, with supported names, optional time and short wording. A design that combines several dates, several locations, a long family text or a different concept may need a bespoke approach.
Describe ideas outside the standard product options through Custom Projects & Bespoke Orders rather than forcing too much information into one standard layout.
Choose the Detail the Recipient Will Recognise First
The right NovaMap™ input is not the most dramatic date, the longest location or the most poetic message. It is the combination that makes one person immediately understand which moment the lamp preserves.
Start with one event. Confirm the date. Use the place where it happened. Add names accurately. Write one short line only when it adds meaning. Then review every visible detail in the Design Proof before approval.
Personalise your NovaMap™ Star Map Lamp with the date, location and wording that belong to your story.
Frequently Asked Questions
What date should I use for a NovaMap™?
Use the date of the meaningful event the lamp is intended to preserve, such as a first meeting, proposal, wedding, birth, move or journey. Choose one date that the recipient will recognise immediately.
Do I need the exact time for NovaMap™?
No. Time is optional. Add it when it is known and relevant, and leave it out when it is uncertain or adds no useful meaning to the design.
Should I enter a city, venue or full address?
Use a city for a clean and recognisable location, a venue when the venue is part of the memory, and a full address only when the address itself carries the meaning.
Can I leave the message blank?
Yes. The date, location and names can create a complete NovaMap™ design without an additional message.
How long should the NovaMap™ message be?
One short line usually creates the clearest result. Two short lines can work, but long quotes and full explanations can make the composition crowded.
Can I use accents, punctuation or special characters?
Yes. Enter names, locations and wording exactly as they should be engraved, including the correct accents, punctuation and special characters, then check them in the Design Proof.
What should I check in the Design Proof?
Check the date, optional time, location, names, message, punctuation, line breaks and overall balance before approving the design for engraving.
Can I use two dates or two locations on one NovaMap™?
The standard NovaMap™ format is built around one chosen date and one location. Concepts using several dates or locations may require AtaNova’s bespoke project process.
