Posts by Quincy Morgan
Without symbols your map would just be a blank piece of paper. Fundamentally, a map is nothing more than a series of symbols representing something spatial. So you need good symbology to make a good map. And in my experience, to make a great map you need great icons for your map pins. But where to get them? There are quite a few open source icon libraries out there, but they all have compromises.…
A river runs through it Streamgages (or stream gauges if you prefer) are devices that measure the surface level of a body of water. Gage height is a simple measurement that tells hydrologists a great deal about the state of a watershed, marking both floods and droughts. It’s also of deep interest to boaters, who know that certain streams can only be navigated at certain water levels. The U.S.…
Keeping the map iconic While I was a full-time maintainer of iD (the default editor at osm.org/edit ), I designed over 270 preset icons. Presets are the default feature types such as “Coffeehouse” or “Foot Path” that people can add to OpenStreetMap using iD. Good preset icons keep the app approachable for new mappers while helping power-mappers sift through data. Plus I think bespoke icons make…
If you’ve spent much time in the OpenStreetMap community you’ll know that there are loads of amazing tools for exploring the map. Advanced users will often open the same data in multiple tools, depending on which is better suited to a specific task. OSM 411 is a website that makes it easy to browse different OSM tools while maintaining context. Basically it’s a big list of links that will all open…
The wayside beckons When not at my desk, I spend as much time as I can taking the scenic route to the next spot on the map. How you get somewhere can be just as important as where you’re going, if not more so. I desired to preserve a piece of the places I passed through, some of them rather fragile to change, so I tried mounting a GoPro to the hood and pressing record. The resulting videos became…
Twitch plays OpenStreetMap So you could spend months reading the OSM Wiki trying to figure out how to map something—or you could just learn by watching. With the Wayside Mapping channels on Twitch and YouTube , I provide mapping livestreams and videos intended to demo the intricacies of OpenStreetMap editing. I always felt OSM was a little bit like a video game, so why not stream it like one? Come…
One big paddle network I’ve been paddling my whole life, but I didn’t think much about canoe and kayak mapping until I stumbled across the Northern Forest Canoe Trail . It opened my eyes to the idea that the world’s waterways form an interconnected paddle network similar to a road or trail network. Naturally I wanted to see how this could be modelled in OpenStreetMap. Unfortunately, I found the…
Welcome to Virginia “ Virginia Is For Lovers ”, one of the more famous tourism slogans, can be found on welcome signs all over the state. Ahead of State of the Map US 2023 in Richmond, I adapted the design for the love of mappers, taking special care to place the ❤️ at the approximate location of RVA. A sticker with this graphic was a freebie for conference attendees. I still rep the sticker on my…
It’s just so Richmond In 2023 I was lucky enough to lead the logo design for the best party in mapping: State of the Map US. The result, in the words of one RVA local, is “just so Richmond”. In a departure from most prior State of the Map US logos, the conference team opted for a monochrome design. The intent was to have something versatile that operated well in different contexts and different…
i would like someone to review my edits As part of re-launching the OpenStreetMap US swag store, I created a design referencing the checkbox that OSM mappers see when uploading a changeset in iD or JOSM. Selecting this option adds a review_requested=yes tag to the changeset, hence the name of the product series. This graphic was intended primarily for baby onesies and toddler shirts, a rarity for…
From the Cabot to the Evangeline Nova Scotia is “Canada’s Ocean Playground”, at least according to its license plates. The province has an extensive network of well-signed scenic routes inviting tourists to follow backroads while on their maritime adventures. The routes commemorate Nova Scotia’s history and culture, from the famed Cabot Trail to the Acadian Evangeline Trail and beyond. Photo by…
Join the ultimate (virtual) winter road trip Following up on my Beach Camping logo for Mapping USA 2022 & 2024, I wanted to whip up something new for 2025 that still felt consistent with the graphic history of this virtual conference series. I took a new look at Holly Moore’s delightful surfboard camperbus logo from MUSA 2021 and decided to give it an update. Since this event would be in January,…
Gather ‘round the virtual campfire Mapping USA is the annual virtual conference series hosted by OpenStreetMap US. The first event under this name occurred in late spring 2021 and was themed around a surfing road trip. Since the 2022 conference took place in the fall, the OSM US team decided to go with a cozy fall camping theme while still nodding toward the beach. Components Wireframe Fills…
Mapping the best river access in the west Montana is a waterway wonderland, home to thousands of river miles that play host to world-class paddle trips. Much of these flow through private lands, but the state has nonetheless ensured public access though a “best in the west” Stream Access Law . But the access law only applies to certain waterways, and has two different classifications, each with…
O, when will by edits appear on the map? This swag design for OpenStreetMap US draws on a timeless question from new mappers and longtime mappers alike: how long must I wait to see the results of my efforts? Thankfully, few mappers have gone to greater lengths to redraw the map than Napoleon. This boxy, oversize tee fits a modern streetwear aesthetic, suitable for everything from house parties to…