30 day map challenge: 2022

Just like last year, I took part in the 30 day map challenge. Writing this is a bit disorienting. They’re just maps, but the condensed month-long sprint makes it hard not to reflect on last year’s experience. My personal map has changed so much. Last year’s maps were created while I was a postdoc, still mostly isolated from the world, in my old apartment in Philadelphia. This year’s maps, in a world that mostly feels back to normal, in my new apartment in Toronto, a place I mostly know, but still feel a stranger to. On a different trajectory entirely. So, disorienting. But who cares where north is, really, when you’re navigating a new planet?

Anyway, I really enjoyed this year’s challenge. I spent a lot of the past year trying to understand how people find their way in the world. My map entries for this year’s challenge were a bit abstract, but I’m always curious about trying to find ways to map moment-to-moment experience onto a static plane as closely as possible. The development I’m most proud of this year is getting better at 3D rendering and generally understanding spatial data better. I was generally able to work faster, which made it possible to experiment more with my colour palettes and visualizations. I love maps, and I’m already excited for next year’s challenge.