Cartography Design Annual

Showcasing the Art of Map Making

The Cartography Design Annual is a collection of maps from some of the top cartographers in the world capturing the beauty of mapping. Compiled and edited by Nick Springer, the Cartography Design Annual collects a select group of maps published in the calendar year 2008. The maps cover a broad spectrum of cartographic styles: 3D birds-eye views, travel maps, historic-style maps, mountain maps, and many more. The Annual is published by Springer Cartographics LLC, with support from NACIS (the North American Cartographic Information Society). The book, in beautiful full-color with an overview and detail view of each map, is both a showcase for cartographers and a interesting collection for anyone who loves maps.

The first Cartography Design Annual was received with great praise and excitement from the cartographic community and so the series continues with this second edition. With a foreword by Tom Patterson of the U.S. National Park Service in the second edition, the release Cartography Design Annual series is becoming an anticipated event for cartographers.

The book contains 30 maps from cartographers in the United States, Canada, Sweden, Norway, and Poland. This is book #2 in what will be an annual series.

The editor, Nick Springer is also the founder of Cartotalk.com, the most popular online community for cartographers worldwide. “The first edition of the Cartography Design Annual was a bit of an experiment, but all of the great feedback I received form cartographers proved that there is a need for this kind of showcase.” said Mr. Springer. “I hope this year’s edition will gain even broader exposure outside the world of cartographers.”

Mr. Springer is the Founder and President of Springer Cartographics LLC in Crosswicks, NJ and has worked for Microsoft Corporation as a Product Designer creating mapping applications and also designs software for GPS navigation systems. He studied Geography and Cartography at Syracuse University.

The submission form for the Cartography Design Annual #2 is now open. Any map published in 2008 is eligible for inclusion. We will be collecting submissions until May 31st, 2009, at which point we will make our selections. You must submit a JPG, GIF, or PNG image of your map with the submission form. The file size is limited to 1MB, but these images will just be used for the selection process. If your map is selected we will contact you to get a high-resolution version.

While this is not technically a competition or an award, we will most likely not have room for all submissions, so maps will be chosen based on their design merits – aesthetic design and clarity of communication. You may submit as many maps as you would like, but each map should be submitted separately.

We hope to have the Cartography Design Annual #2 available for sale in early July. We are looking at new methods for printing and fulfilling the books to improve the quality and process.

We are also planning on offering reprints of maps featured in the Annual with permission form the copyright holders. If you choose to participate in the reprints, you will of course get a share of the proceeds. We will handle the transactions, printing, and fulfillment of the reprints, all you have to do is give us a press-ready file and permission.

If you have any questions you can contact us through this website.

The Cartography Design Annual #1 is now available for purchase at Amazon.com and BN.com. The price is the same as on our website.

The Art of Map Making is Alive and Well

It has been suggested that with the popularity and ubiquity of online map service, the art and design of maps is waning. The Cartography Design Annual is a collection of maps from some of the top cartographers in the world which clearly shows that the craft of cartography is very much alive and well.

Compiled and edited by Nick Springer, the Cartography Design Annual collects a select group of maps published in the calendar year 2007. The maps cover a broad spectrum of cartographic styles: classic terrain maps, road maps, hand-illustrated maps, black & white maps, and many more. The Annual is published by Springer Cartographics LLC, with support from Avenza Systems Inc. The book, in full-color with an overview and detail view of each map, is beautiful as well as informative.

The annual was produced with overwhelming enthusiasm from the cartographic community. “We are delighted to help support this wonderful collection of maps,” said Ted Florence, President of Avenza Systems. “The Cartography Design Annual is an excellent demonstration of what can be done with modern-day map-making software and we thank Nick Springer of Springer Cartographics for putting it together for all to enjoy,” he added.

The book contains 36 maps from cartographers in the United States, Canada, The Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Australia. This is book #1 in what will be an annual series published by Springer Cartographics.

Mr. Springer is also the founder of Cartotalk.com, the most popular online community for cartographers worldwide. “The idea for the Cartography Design Annual came from all the really beautiful maps that cartographers posted on Cartotalk.com,” said Mr. Springer. “I thought that everyone outside of our industry would appreciate the kinds of amazing maps being designed and published in any given year.”

Nick Springer is the Founder and President of Springer Cartographics LLC in Crosswicks, NJ and has worked for Microsoft Corporation as a Product Designer creating mapping applications. He studied Geography and Cartography at Syracuse University.