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Cool Tip on Map Drawing in Illustrator CS
Doing simple maps in Illustrator should be a snap with this technique Adobe Illustrator is a very apt application for drawing simple maps-street maps, navigational maps and the like…
Doing simple maps in Illustrator should be a snap with this technique
Adobe Illustrator is a very apt application for drawing simple maps-street maps, navigational maps and the like. Vectors stand in very well for streets, transit lines, and the like, and the Illustrator Symbol feature is tailor-made for duplicating highway shields, informational icons, and the like.
To the uninitiated Illustrator user who has to draw one or more simple maps as part of a design project (ad, response card, or whatever that may be) the idea of drawing a map, even a small navigational one, can be intimidating.
No fear, however. Surf this link and let Belgian graphic designer Veerle (via her blog) point out to you how to quickly make good-looking curb-line streets. It’s a technique that looks as though it could scale up to take on some larger jobs too.
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Well, yeah - of course. I’ve been using Illustrator since Illustrator “‘88″ as a cartographer to make not just “simple” maps, but every map. How else do you think maps are made? Sure ArcView and other apps exist for GIS/quantitative mapping, but any map I’ve ever “drawn” (and anyone in the industry) uses Illustrator (or historically Freehand to a lesser extent).
That’s just the sort of thing I want to find out about! I suspected that, for many maps, applications like Illustrator are widely used; I’m doing a personal creative project that involves redesigning a transit system map and find that Illustrator accomplishes this task very nicely indeed.
Would you be willing to share what kinds of maps you do and some idea (you don’t have to give away the store) how you do them? Contact me privately if you’d like to. I’d love to show such a thing off, because the production of maps is something I want to explore here as well.
DESIGNORATI
please send tips on how to do maps quickly
Toby:
I’d love to compile such a data bank. Regrettably, no tidbits to hand out just yet. As time goes on, then perhaps–so stay tuned.
DESIGNORATI