Tell Us About Yourself
My name is Antonia Blankenberg. Alongside being a drummer with the fantastic TBL8 Brass, I’m a Lead Consultant in Utilities with Esri Ireland and I’ve been working in GIS for 5 years now. I’ve always been interested in geography, but I only first came across GIS during my undergraduate degree. I took a module studying the geomorphology of Mars, during which I was introduced to ArcMap. I was so intrigued and inspired by it that I decided to further pursue the area, undertaking a Master’s degree in GIS which led me to where I am now. I’ve always had an eye for art, and I love painting, so I love making my maps look like pieces of art. Cartography is the perfect blend of science and art!
Tell us the story behind your map (what inspired you to make it, what did you learn while making it, or any other aspects of the map or its creation you would like people to know)
Autumn is definitely the season that gets the most hype. This map tries to embody the excitement of leaves changing colour and the chill in the air, and brings the cosiness of a pumpkin spice latte. This map was made to engage with both coffee lovers and map lovers to see where in the US loves the PSL the most.
Tell us about the Tools, data, etc., that you used to make the map!
This map uses cafe locations from the OpenStreetMap database to create a choropleth map based on US counties. The map was designed in ArcGIS Pro and then added to Canva, where all of the lovely autumnal graphics were added. The extra step of editing in Canva allowed me to be even more creative than what Pro allows, between the graphics, fun fonts, and other image editing tools. I recommend cartographers try it out for a bit of fun!
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