30DayMapChallenge

Every year since 2019, Topi Tjukanov has released 30 prompts on October 1st. His challenge? Use the prompts to make one map each day, every day, for the whole month of November. This is the 30DayMapChallenge.

Cartography has come to me quite recently in life. I began using GIS software for my first job in 2019, but I fell in love fast. I love that maps can be art as much as storytelling as much as technical reference. As I started making my own maps, I found that the blend of creativity, aesthetics, problem solving, and craftiness it requires made hours go by in what felt like minutes. While I do make some personal maps, the bulk of my map making occurs at work. Yet despite being for work, loading up a high-resolution hillshade or browsing satellite imagery can still fill me with wonder any day.

This challenge came across my radar two years ago and I immediately wanted to participate. I loved seeing the maps that some of my favorite cartographers were putting out. When November came last year, I wanted to do the challenge, but I feared the time commitment with my coursework and M.S. thesis ramping up. This year, I still fear the time commitment, but I’ve decided to give myself the challenge. Each day, for the next 30 days, I will release one map.

Please tag along for the journey!

Link to all days

Day	Prompt	Description	Link
1	Points	A map with points	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/points/
2	Lines	A map with lines	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/lines/
3	Polygons	A map with polygons	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/polygons/
4	A bad map	Let’s get this over with	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/bad_map/
5	Analog Map	Non-digital maps	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/analog/
6	Asia	Largest of the continents	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/asia/
7	Navigation	A map that helps you to navigate	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/navigation/
8	Africa	Second-largest and second-most populous continent	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/africa/
9	Hexagons	6 sides, 6 angles, and 6 vertices	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/hexagons/
10	North America	Northern part of the American continent	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/north_america/
11	Retro	A blast from the past	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/retro/
12	South America	Southern part of the American continent	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/south_america/
13	Choropleth	Classic thematic map: a choropleth	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/south_america/
14	Europe	The westernmost peninsulas of Eurasia	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/europe/
15	OpenStreetMap	The greatest of the datasets. Remember to give credit.	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/openstreetmap/
16	Oceania	Region made up of thousands of islands throughout the Central and South Pacific	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/oceania/
17	Flow	Flow of transport, people	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/flow/
18	Atmosphere	Conditions of the atmosphere can be either weather or climate	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/atmosphere/
19	5-minute map	Spend no more than 5 minutes to prepare this map	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/5minute/
20	Outdoors	Map of mountains, trails, or something completely different	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/outdoors/
21	Raster	Pixels, please
22	North is not always up	⬆️	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/north/
23	3D	The third dimension
24	Black & white	Only two colors allowed	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/bw/
25	Antarctica	A cold continent that can’t be reached with Web Mercator	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/antarctica/
26	Minimal	Less is more	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/minimal/
27	Dot	Dot density, a single dot in space or something different	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/dot/
28	Is this a chart or a map?	In thematic maps, you can’t always tell. Try to stretch the limits	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/som/
29	Population	A classic theme for a map	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/population/
30	”My favorite..”	You choose!	https://sclaw.github.io/work/30day/favorite/