Latest Contributions by KenField

think Candace meant phat-typing... ... View more

BOOM! And that's a wrap. We're outta here. Thanks for all your great questions. We apologise about John Nelson but we'll put him back in his box now. ... View more

Wrong...that's week 6. Tonight, section 5 goes live and it's about threeee deee (3D) with Nathan Shephard ... View more

Yes...this week is all about mapping time! Goes live tonight. ... View more

The future will be what it will be. Cartography has always been a mix of art, science and technology. Technology has always brought intriguing new opportunities while, at the same time, leading some to bemoan change. You have to keep up with the change but life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it. The death of paper is greatly exaggerated for sure. Bueller...Bueller... ... View more

ArcMap and ArcGIS Pro come as part of the same license so you should be good to go. As for when to switch...whenever you are comfortable. At v1.0 I still used ArcMap about 80% of the time. At v2.0 I probably switched to doing 70% of my work in Pro. Now (v2.1.2) I go to Pro first and it actually now freaks me out going back to ArcMap. So, it all depends on when you're comfortable, when Pro supports what you do and...when you make the jump! ... View more

THREE DEEEEE ECTOPLASM!!!! ... View more

Really, I would just keep making maps, learning new techniques and working out how to make them. Learn what works, what doesn't. See what sorts of maps are out in the big world and try and replicate them. that way, you build your experience, you learn what is better and what is poorer and your personal portfolio grows at the same time. ... View more

I actually find 3D challenging because I struggle to find a reason for it. So I need to really think carefully about how to reconcile some of the limits that 3D inevitably has with the benefits it can afford. It's a unique challenge. ... View more

I kinda fell into it simply by following what I loved to do. Given I was rubbish at Chemistry that meant I couldn't be a surgeon and I didn't have the patience to spend 7 years studying architecture. Maps it was! ... View more

I think the best advice I can give you is immerse yourself in maps and just try and see what has worked over many many years for others. Identify the good from the weak and build yourself an appreciation and your own set of likes/dislikes and what techniques you are drawn to...then give them a go AND SIGN YOUR WORK. Blog about it, share it, send it to map galleries and competitions. Put it in front of people and get critique. I did the map design commission map a day blog precisely to create a set of great maps that people can learn from: Commission on Map Design | Website of the newly established ICA Commission on Map Design  Consultancy - it pays the bills. I've done plenty of maps paid for by others that I wouldn't have designed that way myself BUT they were all well made. Maybe not to my taste but they worked. I don't have a particular favourite personal map of mine. It's usually the latest one I've made because there's usually some technical or conceptual aspect I've been pleased to tackle. But I still like the Deaths in the Grand Canyon because it's so dramatic. I also like Breweries of the World because you don't often get asked to make a 20ft map of beer for a brewery. A lot of my maps are here: carto.maps.arcgis.com ... View more

Off the top of my head I don't have any maps that buck trends in the way you describe but many maps have to adhere to style specs, standards, colour identities etc. It's a fact of cartographic life! I guess all you can do is make alternatives and put them in front of people to try and show them a better/different way. Remember, the London underground map looked very different before Harry Beck came up with his version which was not well received by the company to start with. ... View more

All good. I have all three. I'd say the latter is more practically focused. It also bridges pure cartography with design in a more general sense. It has far more examples than the others. It's visually enticing and less, ahem, academic in layout,structure and tone. It also has somewhere in the order of 100 contributors which means it's a collective 'voice' for what cartography is in 2018. There's a reason it has a period (full stop) at the end of the title...it's really the only book you need going forward. A desk companion, a sage, a reference, a compendium of sound advice and encouragement to think about the importance of thinking in cartographic design. All that said, it's really up for others to review and determine how they see my contribution. And that's something I am scared stiff of!!! ... View more

Fondest cartographic memory: Making a map that people physically engaged with...leant in, touched, searched, found a connection with. Favourite map: I have hundreds because there are so many different genres and each has many magnificent examples to choose from...but Beck's London Underground nudges as my favourite. the original. not the abomination that Transport for London have turned it into. Most proud of. I am proud of the book that's about to be published. I've been thinking about it for around 15 years. I'm proud to call many great cartographers friends. I also tend to be proud of the last map I made...a process that means you're always searching for something better, to learn new techniques and to make new and interesting maps. i'm also pretty proud of this MOOC. I recall taking the idea to David DiBiase and saying I think it'd be popular. I didn't imagine it'd attract 35,000 people! ... View more

I wanted to be a footballer, then an astronaut, then a California highway Patrolman...and all from my middle England city! I was good at geography, and reasonably good at art. I simply followed a path that led me into a bachelors course in cartography and then a career. I love that I do a job I love. If you're interested, i wrote up a brief history of how I landed where i landed http://cartonerd.blogspot.com/2013/06/cartographic-identity-disorder.html ... View more