A great way to display statistics of San Fransisco crimes

 

 

map designed by Doug McCune

I came across this map on strange maps http://bigthink.com/blogs/strange-maps.  These infographics were created using 2009 crime stats for San Fransisco. It can get so boring looking "heat" maps of crime or boring old graphs.  Doug's approach brings a new look to crime data.  It does a really good job at showing where the hot spots are for crime.  I In general I think 3-d images do a great job at capturing people's attention.  If your interested in finding more unique maps I recommend checking out Strange Maps      

Cool new site

Curiosity of Hand Maps.org http://www.handmaps.org/recent.php?ID=347

 I've been trying to find some good books on cartography (I know the internet is full of useful information, but there is just something about a physical book).  As I was searching for book I came across this site site http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/01/07/must-read-map-books/.  which eventually lead me to Hand Maps http://www.handmaps.org/index.php .  This site has user submitted maps that are hand drawn.  With the so much cartography and map making done using a computer its really refreshing to see some hand drawn maps.  Some are simple sketches of family trips while others are very detailed.  This site has given me some inspiration and I'm thinking of taking the time to make a hand made map. Maybe it'll will be good enough to appear on Hand Maps. 

Google map tutorials

When Google Earth first came out I was in high school.  I though it was so amazing being able to look at anyplace on earth and mark places I’ve been.  Over the last decade they’ve kept adding new features to it.  Beyond Google Earth Google has revolutionized the way we look at and use maps.   In the past I’ve mainly used Google Maps to look up location, but there is so much more you can do.  For example you can create custom maps, look up traffic conditions among other things.  Below is a link to Google maps tutorials.  http://www.google.com/earth/outreach/tutorials/all.html Some of the videos are very useful.  I hope to use some of these new techniques and post  some examples of my work.