Andy Woodruff  · Cartographer | Blog

My maps

Indiemapper is here

26 April 2010 tagged axis maps, indiemapper with 1 comment

Two weeks ago our five-man team/jug band at Axis Maps finally launched indiemapper, the fabulous web-based thematic mapping application. Born more than two years ago, it’s come a long way. Have a gander at Zachary Johnson’s blog for the story of how it came to be and how it was made. (And yes, the “indiemapper” […]

Mapping a whole darn year

5 January 2010 tagged animation, Boston, gps, map projects with 17 comments

In the past I have mentioned here an ongoing project to trace my every movement on a map, using memory and mouse-clicking rather than technology that costs money. Well, the advent of 2010 marks a full calendar year of doing this and a good moment to show some results. Obviously this is not a novel […]

You can’t get there from here

22 December 2009 tagged Boston, driving, maine, minimal maps with 38 comments

Apparently in Maine they have a saying, “you can’t get there from here” (spoken in a Maine accent), said when giving directions as an observation of the impossibility of traveling a direct route between certain places. It seems to have something to do with lakes and the organization of roads in the vast rural areas […]

Accidental map projections II

12 November 2009 tagged indiemapper, math, projections with 3 comments

By accidental I of course mean deliberate. Same deal as before. Tweak a map projection formula a bit, and the results can be interesting. Made with indiemapper. We’ll probably return the map projection code to normal before it’s released.

Flickr as a paintbrush

21 October 2009 tagged color, flickr with 41 comments

What color is Harvard? Don’t say something like “white,” smartass. But don’t say “crimson” just yet, either. This being a blog about maps, I of course mean Harvard not as a school but as a geographic entity. What color is the landscape, physical and cultural? When people look around at whatever interests them, what colors […]

Madbridge, Wiscachusetts and Portland, Mainegon

30 August 2009 tagged Boston, experiment, frivolous, madison with 4 comments

For the next effort from the cartographic sandbox in which I’ve been playing lately, let’s try something ridiculous again. Your typical map, particularly the modern online mashup, exists to show various data that share a common geography. For a change of pace, what about different geographies that share common data? To claim to have actually […]