In my mental model of a walkability map it’s not enough to know how far away something is, but also how long it takes me to get there. My perceptions of the same distances, but with different walk times, are much different. There are realities that slow me down like intersections, buildings, water features, or …

Yes, yes, maps are spatial communication devices and we can obsess over precision and clarity. But it all depends on your map’s purpose. Maps are also designed objects so they can carry within them the power of sentiment. Memory, joy, nostalgia. Or just plain old wonder and curiosity. Here’s how you can create a charming …

You know how you can crank up the sense of drama and studio photography professionalism by switching over to portrait mode on your phone’s camera? It just looks…cool. The subject is in focus and the peripheral background content is blurry. It’s actually how our eyes and brains work, so it’s pleasing to see in photography. …

Sure, there’s a glorious drop shadow effect in the ever-more-capable ArcGIS Online Map Viewer to give features a sweet glow, BUT there’s no inner glow effect. How do we cast that beautiful glow inward? I’ll admit that I’ve been stumped by this one for longer than I care to admit, but then it just hit …