Spatial Humanities Initiative Lecture Series: Foundations of Interactive Cartography: A Concept-to-Completion Approach to Map Production for Digital Humanities by David Heyman

Friday, October 6, 2017

Though it is shrinking every year, there still exists a significant barrier to entry for many humanities scholars who want to present their work in an interactive medium. This talk aims to provide both a conceptual and practical overview of the production process for a digital humanities interactive map by looking at examples from Axis Maps' portfolio of digital humanities projects. We will look at technological issues around collecting, storing, and distributing the data that powers interactive maps. Then we will examine considerations for the design of a product, both the cartographic visual communication and the look, feel, and structure of the user interface. Finally we will look at different approaches and common open source code libraries used in the implementation of these projects. The goal of the talk is to provide a framework for envisaging your own potential digital humanities projects as well as examining the technical and practical aspects of projects you encounter.

Bio: 
Founder and Managing Director of Axis Maps, David Heyman has a BA from Middlebury College and worked as a GIS analyst for cities from rural Vermont to New York City before coming to Madison where he earned his MS at the University of Wisconsin in Cartography. Although a trained cartographer, he now spends his time running the day-to-day operations of Axis Maps, from strategic planning to managing individual projects, working with clients to coordinate Axis Maps’ work. David has been interviewed for articles on the new generation of mapping in the Guardian and Washington Post as well as been a featured guest on radio programs including NPR’s On Point with Tom Ashbrook and KCBS radio in San Francisco. Axis Maps URL