Field notes
Journal
Notes from the drafting table, published as they happen rather than batched into a newsletter.
Jun 10, 2026
Why We Still Start Every Map on Paper
Every commission still starts as a pencil layout, not a file. It’s slower than composing directly in illustration…
Apr 22, 2026
Field Notes: What a Trailhead Conversation Actually Teaches You
We spend at least half a day at any trailhead we’re mapping, mostly just listening to what visitors…
Feb 14, 2026
Equipment Note: Retiring Our Old Light Table
Our original light table finally failed this winter after years of daily use for tracing pencil layouts into…
Nov 8, 2025
A Note on How We Classify Project Status
Every project in our archive is marked Completed, In Production, or Archived. Archived doesn’t mean the work was…
Aug 19, 2025
47 Maps: A Studio Tally
We passed 47 completed commissions this year since the studio’s first trail map in 2016 — a mix…
May 3, 2025
What Ski Resort Maps Get Away With That Park Maps Cannot
Ski trail maps are one of the only cartographic genres where deliberately distorting scale is standard practice —…