If you are in the economic development business, you are in the map business. We’re lucky to have so many sources available to screenshot, download, or cut and paste, but have you taken a look at your website and your marketing materials lately? I bet you’ll see what I see, a lot of maps from a lot of different sources. Usually the chaos increases over time, as more presentations are created piecemeal from old and new sources.
It’s easy to lose any connection to your branding pretty quickly when you are cutting and pasting instead of creating. And it’s not just about maintaining a cohesive look. When colors, fonts, and features like highlighted cities or roads keep changing, it’s disorienting – and that’s the opposite of what you want a map to do.
Here’s the good news – it’s easier and cheaper than ever before to create a few strong and flexible base maps, and build your inventory as you go – more on this topic next time.