For the third year I am participating in the #30DayMapChallenge. Creating a map per day for the whole of November is challenging. The challenge is in finding the sweet spot between doable,[1] and worth doing.
Worth is a moving target. If I learn something new—a technique, a new-to-me matplotlib feature, anything in Inkscape, or that Barnes Ice Cap flows quite slowly—it is worth it. If the output looks a little bit better than ok-ish,[2] it is worth it. If a few strangers on the internet appreciate it[3] and enjoy it, it is worth it.
Anyway, I've already made a few[4] this year, and the prompt for day 23 (today) is:
Process - Show how you make a map. This could be a tutorial, a step-by-step graphic, a blog post, a video, or a screenshot of your work environment. Combine it with a map from another day!
process
It's a delightfully simple process. Refined over time.
unsurprisingly
The way the process took shape today involved several abandonned ideas. And making that flowchart involved an involuntary and slightly tedious trip down a rabbit hole.
I nearly ended up in the quit box a few times today.
I'll spare you the details. But just know, there are reasons why the diagram isn't nicely displayed on this page in a little interactive window that you can pan and zoom around. Ugh.