This amazing map of Lake Michigan was made entirely by typewriter

Author: Frank Jacobs / Source: Big Think

• An old Royal Safari II typewriter was used to make this effective and attractive map
• Although they’re relatively easy to make, typewriter maps are rare
• The mapmaker has received numerous commissions; will typewritten maps be the cartographic hype of 2019?

To anyone familiar with North America’s geography, the shape on this map is instantly recognisable.

This lookalike of Sweden (1), similarly drooping, is Lake Michigan. What sets this map apart, though, is not its subject, but its presentation.

This lo-fi map somewhat recalls the stock cartography used by newspapers a couple of decades ago, perhaps not just because it shares their minimalist aesthetic; maybe also because it was produced using a technology that became obsolete around the mid-1980s – the typewriter.

Lo-fi method, cool map

Daniel P. Huffman made this on his dad’s Royal Safari II. “I can’t remember why my mind turned toward the thought of the typewriter in my basement”, he writes, “but I always wanted a good reason to use it, so I fell back to my default excuse: maps”.

So, how do you make a typewritten map? Mr Huffman’s instructions are quite simple:

1. draw out a grid and plan what characters go in what spaces; and
2. spend a bunch of time messing around on a typewriter.

In this case, lines of dots (…) represent water, while asterisks (***) form state borders. The at sign has been sprung from its prison inside the email address (2) and now marks the location of cities, typed out in the Safari’s elegant Prestige Elite font (3).

City and river names are in…

Click here to read more

The post This amazing map of Lake Michigan was made entirely by typewriter appeared first on FeedBox.