Mapmaking: We Live in Red Embossed Leather

I was drawn to cartography because it is both an art and a science. Sure, there are rules to follow, there are computers to assist the process, but at the end of the day, you are a human being in the act of creation. Someone else would make that map differently from you – they’ll go through a different process, or they’ll select a different color or font.

(As it goes with leatherworking. You may have a great eye for design, but if you aren’t exact about making sure that edge is perfect or ensuring that the holes you punch aren’t in a straight line, your product won’t be nearly as beautiful.)

Perhaps this map leans more towards the “art” end of the spectrum. But another purpose of a map is to draw people in, to make them look at something that they otherwise wouldn’t. There’s no better way to do that than with an interactive map. So, I decided to put our leather and suede color swatches to good use. This map shows each of the localities of Bogota (not including Sumapaz, but that’s a different story) as a different leather or suede color. I like to think of this map like I think of Restrepo Leather bags – classy, but unique.

I guess this means we live in Red Embossed Leather and the Restrepo neighborhood is in Brown Suede?

I made this map using TileMill with some help from OpenStreetMap.