#30DayMapChallenge: Analog

For Day 9 of the #30DayMapChallenge, the theme was Analog, and the response was a beautiful reminder that some of the most powerful maps are made not with code, but with our hands. Stepping away from pixels and processors, cartographers shared work that was tactile, personal, and full of heart.

Here’s a look at the incredible analog creations that stood out.

5.The stitched landscape of Ireland
In a beautiful fusion of digital and physical, Samantha Antonini reverse-engineered a digital map of Ireland into an embroidery project. Using a template generated in ArcGIS, she stitched the landscape by hand, discovering the unforgiving nature of thread and needle. Her reflection that "there’s no ‘edit’ button in embroidery" highlights the unique challenge and charm of analog creation.

4.From lava flows to paper Maps
Erica Wolfe shared a treasure from her archives: paper maps meticulously crafted during an undergraduate field camp on Mauna Loa. Her story of "stumbling over ‘A’ā lava flows" and "battling with the wind" to map coastlines illustrates how the physical act of mapping in the field forges a deeper, more intuitive connection to the landscape.

3.A Nod to Historical Craft
Caitlyn North shared a stunning project by Edie Punt: a modern, embroidered interpretation of a map of Montreal from 1815. This piece masterfully recreates the hachures of 19th-century engraved cartography in thread, using a contemporary craft to bridge centuries of mapmaking tradition.

2.The visionary sketch
Elizabeth Rosenbloom offered a glimpse into the creative process with a hand-drawn sketch for a realistic flood simulation project. This analog foundation is the first step in a ambitious journey into Unreal Engine and photogrammetry, proving that even the most advanced digital projects often begin with a simple, powerful idea on paper.

1. The hand-drawn lockdown Map
Amna Azeem took us back to the heart of cartography with a hand-drawn neighbourhood map created during the COVID-19 lockdown. This piece, later featured in Bloomberg's The Quarantine Atlas and on the BBC, is a testament to how maps can be diaries. "There is nothing like a handmade map," she writes—a sentiment that perfectly captures the day's theme.

These maps remind us that cartography is, at its core, a human endeavour—a way to make sense of our world, one careful line, stitch, and sketch at a time.