This past month marked the annual 30-Day Map Challenge, a social media event put on every year to celebrate the power of maps and all of the different work that can be done with GIS. Throughout the month of November, GIS experts and others took to social media every day to complete the challenge, with each day representing a different theme to be met with a map. Some days focused on water, for example, while others dictated that data be taken from certain sources. The result is a plethora of different maps, all showing different information and collectively symbolizing the different capabilities and data that can be showcased using maps.
While I am not a GIS professional and did not participate in the challenge personally, I did enjoy perusing LinkedIn throughout the month and looking at all of the different examples. Below is just a sample of the maps produced throughout the month for each day, along with the official description for each theme, hopefully showing off what the challenge is all about.
Day One: Points
30DayMapChallenge classic: A map with points. Start the challenge with points. Show individual locations—anything from cities to trees or more abstract concepts. Simple, but a key part of the challenge.
This is a great way to start off the challenge, showing how our perception of space can be altered just by slight adjustments. The points also tell a story here, with the clusters of yellow showing where exploration was at its apex around the world. The large cluster around the UK and the North Sea, for example, stands out.
Day Two: Lines
30DayMapChallenge classic: A map with focus on lines. Roads, rivers, routes, or borders—this day is all about mapping connections and divisions. Another traditional way to keep things moving.
Here we have a visually stunning map, showcasing all of the rivers throughout South America. The poster also includes why these rivers are so important, giving a peak into why civilizations have thrived in this area throughout human history.
Day Three: Polygons
30DayMapChallenge classic: A map with polygons. Regions, countries, lakes—this day is for defined shapes that fill space.
Natural disasters are on all of our minds these days as extreme weather events become more common due to climate change. This is a fascinating map to look at trends throughout the US, as well as some anomalies. For example, in my neck of the woods in Southern Maine, there is a loan orange dot in a sea of blue and purple.
Day Four: Hexagons
Maps using hexagonal grids. Step away from square grids and try mapping with hexagons. A fun way to show density or spatial patterns.
Some of my favorite examples of maps throughout this challenge is always people taking the theme in multiple ways, so using hexagons as a jumping off point to talk about honey bees is right up my alley.
Day Five: A Journey
Map any journey. Personal or not. Trace a journey—this could be a daily commute, a long-distance trip, or something from history. The key is to map movement from one place to another.
This was an interesting theme for this year, and people went in a lot of different directions. However, as a long-time LEGO enthusiast, it was hard to resist this example.
Day Six: Raster
A map using raster data. Rasters are everywhere, but today’s focus is purely on grids and pixels—satellite imagery, heatmaps, or any continuous surface data.
The animation on this map takes it to a different level, showing how the Earth changes based on different times in the day.
Day Seven: Vintage Style
Map something modern in a vintage aesthetic. Create a map that captures the look and feel of historical cartography but focuses on a contemporary topic. Use muted colors, fonts, and classic elements.
Old images of New York City are always interesting to me, seeing how the largest city in the United States has evolved over the years. So, it’s no surprise this map stood out.
Day Eight: Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX)
Use data from HDX to map humanitarian topics. Explore the datasets from the Humanitarian Data Exchange, covering disaster response, health, population, and development. Map for social good.
The color scheme really makes this map pop, but it also really showcases how human civilizations have coalesced around water in a way that can be hard to truly represent without zooming out a bit.
Day Nine: AI Only
This day is all about prompt engineering. Use AI tools like DALL-E, MidJourney, Stable Diffusion, or ChatGPT with geospatial capabilities to create a map based on AI-generated content. The challenge is to get the right prompt and critically assess the output—how well does AI capture or distort the map's intent?
I felt that this map really exemplified the theme well, showcasing some of the good and the bad of AI today, while also shining a light on the effects of humans on the environment.
Day Ten: Pen & Paper
Draw a map by hand. Go analog and draw a map using pen and paper. The result doesn’t have to be perfect—it’s about the creative process.
This is another great example of taking the theme to its logical extreme, using pen and paper to draw a map all about the history of paper.
Day Eleven: Arctic
Map the Arctic. Whether it’s ice coverage, wildlife habitats, or the effects of climate change, this day is all about mapping the cold extremes of the Arctic.
Not only are the visuals for this map fantastic, but it’s a good highlight of both our changing environment and the value of Earth observation data.
Day Twelve: Time and Space
Map something where time matters. Visualize change over time—urban growth, migration, or environmental shifts. Show the relationship between time and geography.
It’s always hard to feel the sheer scale of evolution like what’s been experienced with the growth of cell phones over the last couple of decades, and this map is stunning in visualizing that growth.
Day Thirteen: A New Tool
Use a tool you’ve never tried before. The challenge has always been about trying new things. Use a tool, software, or drawing technique you’ve never worked with before.
This one is just a great map to look at, with the animation and the color scheme really popping off of the page.
Day Fourteen: A World Map
Map the whole world. Whether it’s continents, ecosystems, or oceans, this is the day to map the entire planet.
This was a really unique take on this map, and using an interesting method to showcase the population centers around the world.
Day Fifteen: My Data
Map something personal. Map data from your own life—this could be places you’ve traveled, your daily routine, or any other personal touch.
There were a lot of personal examples for this theme, but this one stood out to me showing many of the different ports around the Atlantic with an eye into the life of a Naval veteran.
Day Sixteen: Choropleth
Classic choropleth map. Use color to show data variation across regions. This simple but effective technique is a staple for showing thematic differences.
Here we have a really playful take on this map, as told in the post, that also serves to exemplify how maps can really answer so many questions that people wouldn’t necessarily think of.
Day Seventeen: Collaborative Map
Collaborate with others on a single map. For today’s challenge, team up! Whether you work with one person or several, the idea is to combine your efforts on a single map.
For the collaborative map, we have a unique concept showing avalanche risk in a section of the Alps, showing how different bits of data can come together for a valuable bit of data.
Day Eighteen: 3D
Map with depth. Add a third dimension to your map. Whether it’s visualizing elevation, buildings, or something more abstract, today’s about thinking beyond flat surfaces.
I really enjoyed this one largely for the discussion of what really is a map? The poster themselves ask this question, wondering whether this is a map, or a model?
Day Nineteen: Typography
Map focused on typography. Let text and words do the heavy lifting today. Whether you’re focusing on place names, labeling, or using text to create shapes and patterns.
I found this to be a very creative take on this theme, showing the kind of map that people have seen many, many times, but using words to replace the waterways in a manner that still maintains the structure of the original map.
Day Twenty: OpenStreetMap
Use OpenStreetMap data to create something. OpenStreetMap offers rich, editable data from roads to buildings and beyond. The goal is to showcase the power of this community-driven dataset.
It’s the holiday season, so many of us are on Amazon every day looking for deals and gift ideas. This map fits with that theme, as well as the day’s.
Day Twenty One: Conflict
Map a conflict. Political, territorial, or social—there are conflicts all around us. Map boundaries, tension points, or the outcomes of conflicts.
Most of the maps in this theme, as one would expect, powerfully showcased geopolitical conflict around the world. However, I found this example to be a creative alternative within the theme.
Day Twenty Two: 2 Colors
Create a map using only 2 colors. No gradients or shading—just two flat colors. This restriction encourages creativity in design and forces you to think about how to clearly convey your message with minimal color.
We’ve had a few maps already showing the population densities around the world, but this might be the cleanest and most representative example.
Day Twenty Three: Memory
Map based on memory. Create a map of a place you remember—hometown, favorite destination, or somewhere meaningful. It doesn’t need to be perfectly accurate, just how you recall it.
This is another really creative example of interpreting a theme, and another question of what makes a map? To me, this certainly fits the bill.
Day Twenty Four: Only Circular Shapes
Map using only circles. Everything should be circular. Forget straight lines and sharp edges, and see how creative you can get by sticking to round shapes.
Using only circles to map a famous, large-scale ring is too on-point to not include in this exercise.
Day Twenty Five: Heat
Map something related to heat. Focus on heat, whether it’s actual temperature or areas of intensity—like heatmaps of activity or metaphorical heat.
Sea surface temperature is one of the most important aspects to monitor in our environment today, and this was a great visualization of this crucial idea.
Day Twenty Six: Map Projections
Explore different map projections and how they distort the world. Whether it's focusing on the classic Mercator, the Peters projection, or a more obscure one like the Waterman Butterfly, today is about playing with how we represent the round Earth on flat surfaces.
This example is, in short, really what this theme is all about.
Day Twenty Seven: Micromapping
Map something small and precise. Zoom in and map a small area in high detail. It could be a single building, a street corner, or a tiny plot of land. Focus on accuracy at a small scale.
This is a great tool that fits in with this theme and can kill a lot of time finding significant people for specific locations.
Day Twenty Eight: The Blue Planet
Map oceans, rivers, and lakes. Focus on water today. Map the oceans, rivers, or lakes, diving deep into marine environments or water systems.
I love this idea of taking the planet from a different perspective, changing the Earth to what a fish would see.
Day Twenty Nine: Overture
Use data from the Overture Maps Foundation. Explore data from Overture Maps Foundation to create a map that highlights new geographic datasets. A great opportunity to dive into open geospatial data!
The use of 3D buildings within maps has become more popular in recent years, and what better location to showcase this capability than New York City?
Day Thirty: The Final Map
The final challenge—your choice! Revisit a technique from earlier in the month, refine an idea, or try something completely new. End the challenge on a high note with a map that showcases your creativity, growth, or just pure fun!
People could go in any direction they wanted with this one, and I personally love these maps showing urban density through artificial light, so I had to represent that again with this final theme.
