NACIS 2022

I Want to Be a Cartographer When I Grow Up!
Kate Leroux, Stamen Design
Cartographers often appear in video games, helping players gain new pieces of the world map. What are these representations teaching kids (and adults) about who cartographers are? In this talk I'll share my analysis of the ways cartographers are represented in popular video games.

Surveying the Design of Story Maps in Digital Journalism
Timothy Prestby, The Pennsylvania State University
Story maps have emerged as a popular storytelling device in recent years with journalists leveraging geospatial web technologies to create unique spatial narratives. However, empirical research analyzing the design of story maps is limited. Here, I present results from an empirical study that 1) operationalizes proposed story map frameworks and 2) identifies common design traits in contemporary story maps. My findings suggest that most story maps unfold using browser scrolling and utilize only a handful of previously proposed story map techniques: focusing readers’ attention, breaking up content into manageable bits, and establishing a consistent mood. Story maps also leveraged color and novelty to make the design vivid.

What’s that Map Telling Us?
Dave Wolverton, Mediawerx
The Manitou Flood Tour is an online platform that draws the viewer’s interest into a story by implementing cartography, images, and minimal narrative to establish a sense of place and area of impact. Cartography as an interface provides a nonlinear path deeper into the story using interactive drone-captured imagery, which deftly moves from a map perspective to the scene of the event. Video and still photography of the aftermath bring the viewer to the pedestrian level, depicting on-the-ground perspectives showing its magnitude and chaos. The level of insight it brings is a greater understanding of the flood event and potential risks associated with future events. Project: http://mediawerx.com/vr-wc/

Angling for Space
Anthony Robinson, The Pennsylvania State University
Access to fishing is enabled and sometimes hindered by contemporary cartography. The intersections of private and public spaces are often interesting ones for an angler in search of a good fishing spot. Cultural norms within fishing communities can shape the location information people wish to share. In this talk I will show several place discovery methods available for the map-savvy angler, including those that leverage biases in fitness tracking and street view services. Apocryphal knowledge of places can be superseded by modern maps. Increasing access can harm the environment and/or expose culturally significant resources that are threatened by widespread awareness.

Slack channel: #nacis2022-greathall