Hello map aficionados!
Production of Volume 7 is nearing completion—and inside you’ll find 33 beautiful maps to admire paired with commentaries full of practical design insights. Whether you take that knowledge and apply it to your own work, or simply use it to better appreciate the many thoughtfully crafted things out there in the world, the Atlas is committed to sharing with readers the wide scope of excellent cartography being made today. Sadly, there is only so much we can fit into a single book, and so while we wait for Volume 7, we wanted to highlight some of the honorable mentions from this volume and share even more interesting maps that we think readers will enjoy.
The comments in this series are the opinions of the editors and do not speak for the authors of the maps, nor do they offer an official Atlas of Design opinion. We simply wish to point you in the direction of some additional well-crafted maps and their authors. We hope you will find them inspiring and encourage you to check out more of their work!
Hannah Wright (with Ordnance Survey and British Cycling)
Reservoir Cogs
Aaron: A collaboration between the Ordnance Survey and British Cycling, this map is part of a series designed to get people from diverse and disadvantaged communities in Birmingham, UK outdoors and riding bikes. The charming iconography helps highlight the number of sights for families to visit along the suggested route, and the distinction of traffic-free sections and busy areas means cyclists can plan their trips according to their own comfort level. See more of Hannah’s work on LinkedIn or on the Ordnance Survey’s various media channels @OrdnanceSurvey.
Henry Crane
The Philadelphia Bookstore Map
Aaron: If you’re reading this then you probably like maps, books, books of maps, and maps of books—and here we have it all. This wonderfully illustrated map of Philadelphia bookstores and their facades is meant to connect readers with local businesses, and has been distributed across the city in stores, cafes, libraries, and more via 50,000 free paper copies for residents to pick up and keep handy. You can read more about the project here, and see more of Henry’s work at henrycraneartwork.weebly.com.
Andrew Tyrrell / South Arrow Maps
Arthur’s Pass National Park
Dan: It’s always a pleasure to see a map that artfully captures the essence of a place. Arthur’s Pass National Park by South Arrow Maps’ Andrew Tyrrell is a great example of this. Tyrrell’s map, which was designed as a fold-out poster for Wilderness magazine, boldly represents the alpine terrain and land cover of the Arthur’s Pass region on New Zealand’s South Island. Tyrrell’s “Natural Basemap” style puts the focus on the physical geography while still allowing visual space to depict the National Park’s backcountry track and hut network with exquisite detail. Read more about the map here and see what other cartographic adventures Andrew has been up to at his website: southarrowmaps.co.nz.
Micaela Mendelevich / Mapoteca
La Luna
Dan: La Luna, illustrated by Micaela Mendelevich for Mapoteca, is a delightful assemblage of lunar information and iconography, all illustrated in a beautifully textured style with a dark night backdrop. The centerpiece of La Luna is a hand-crafted map of the moon, featuring the locations of major craters and lava plains. My favorite detail, however, is the collection of night-blooming flowers that adorn the edge of this captivating illustration. You can see more of Mapoteca’s illustrated map series at mapoteca.com.ar or on Instagram @mapoteca. For more of Micaela Mendelevich’s illustrations go to micaelamendelevich.myportfolio.com or @mendelevicha on IG.
Jeremy Collins
Bentonville Trails
Erin: This whimsical map makes me want to go mountain biking in Bentonville, Arkansas! You can tell at first glance that the trails are very much part of the city culture, embedded in the community. Jeremy Collins’ unique hand-drawn maps not only serve a practical purpose but also double as beautiful works of art. He highlights nature, outdoor activities and environmental activism in his maps, as well as murals, screen prints, clothing design and more.
Alexander Broers
Languages & Peoples of the First Nations of Australia
Erin: Drawing inspiration from Tolkien’s map style, we are transported from Middle Earth to a borderless Australia, drawn by hand, and labeled with a font created from Alex’s own hand-drawn calligraphy. Guided by Aboriginal-led resources and discussions with a range of First Nations groups, this map honors Australia’s Indigenous heritage. You can find more maps here and at wildwoodmaps.com.
Agnar Renolen
Trollheimen
Aileen: Trollheimen is an exploration in reproducing the styles of 19th and 20th-century maps in a 21st-century world. Agnar masterfully melded distinctly modern data types, like raster elevation data, and contemporary data tools with the styles of maps made over 100 years ago like a limited color palette and simple dots, dashes, and shapes to indicate features on the map. It’s a delight to get lost in! You can find more of Agnar’s work on their website.
Feiran SUN, Yameng WANG, Xi TANG, Institute of Cartography, East China Normal University
Yangtze River Delta: Accessing to River and Sea, Facilitating Domestic and International Circulations
Aileen: This map of Yangtze River Delta packs an informational punch. Sun, Wang, and Tang cleverly leverage a limited color palette to lend cohesiveness to their information-packed maps and diagrams. The map depicts Shanghai’s role linking the Yangtze and global circulation. Despite the map being in a language I cannot read, I found myself engrossed in the details. The river and its tributaries call to mind transit lines and when used in conjunction with flow lines and the limited color palette, I almost feel as though I’m looking at a computer chip.
Volume 7 is now available for pre-order! Visit our orders page to get yours today!