Today I have decided to begin offering free PDFs of all the maps that I sell prints of. There's a fine line that a lot of people walk when putting their art online. You want people to be able to see (or hear) your work, but you also want to maintain some control over your … Continue reading Opening the Vaults →

I have nearly recovered sufficiently from an amazing NACIS conference, and I think I'm ready to get back to a little blogging. This time around, I'd like to present you all with an unfinished concept, and to ask you for your help in carrying it to completion. Specifically, I'd like to show you some attempts … Continue reading On Generalization Blending for Shaded Relief →

I've been meaning for some time to share these videos that I produced last year to assist in teaching projections to my students. Specifically, I wanted to use them to emphasize the importance of choosing projection parameters carefully to reduce distortions in the subject area, and to show how two different-looking maps can really be … Continue reading On Projection Videos →

I made a post recently on my other blog, Cartastrophe, about the misuse of map elements. I feel like it belongs here, too, as it's somewhat about cartography education, so here's a link if you'd like to head on over.

Gentle readers, welcome back. Forgive my prolonged absence (even lengthier on Cartastrophe). I'm unemployed, and it turns out that being unemployed can be a great deal of work, as I've been working harder these past couple months than when I was actually being paid. Much of my time has gone to building an atlas of … Continue reading On Tweet Maps →

We seem to like naming things after people; buildings, streets, awards, etc. Everywhere you look there are names on the landscape, meant to memorialize some historic figure deemed worthy. But it rarely works. Generations pass, and we no longer apprehend the significance of the fact that we live on Adams Street or walk past DeWaters Hall on our … Continue reading On The Ways of the Framers →

At the instigation of my colleague Tim Wallace, the UW Cartography Diaspora has been lately abuzz with a debate on the role of art and science in cartography (particularly web cartography). Today's post is my contribution to the discussion. For some background, I recommend you first read through the comments of my colleagues on the … Continue reading On Human Cartography →

Let me tell you about how I was saved by maps. I used to be a chemist some years ago. I worked at a mom & pop pharmaceutical laboratory in my home town of Kalamazoo, Michigan. From the time I was ten or eleven, I had planned on this job. I blame Mr. Wizard — I … Continue reading On Salvation →